Bodyguards Never Sleep
by Assassinating
Summary: Apparently, Edward is not old enough to skip school. And not legal enough to murder his higher ups for assigning him to a bodyguard mission. For Malfoy.
1. Chapter 1

Edward was going to kill somebody when he got back home. He was going to maim him first then maybe break every bone in his body then turn his brain into fruit juice.

He was going to kill Roy for assigning him to this stupid mission. The fuhrer needed a bodyguard to protect some random kid and of course, Mustang just had to make his life miserable. It was something like a twenty-four seven stakeout and Alphonse could not even be there to ease his suffering.

Sitting there in front of thousands of students who had their eyes riveted on him, Edward felt ridiculous. Someone had put a hat that smelled like old cheese onto his head and made him sit on a stool. If they wanted to test his resilience against smelly cheese, it certainly was working.

"Ooh, this one is easy."

Edward almost fell off from his perch on the stool. He grabbed the sides of the chair and took a deep breath. The voice sounded close to his ear. Edward swung his head around to glare at the person who startled him but there was no one. Was that _hat_ talking?

"Smart, brave, ambitious," the voice continued without missing a beat.

_Someone bound a soul into the hat!_ Edward snarled mentally but the hat was speaking again.

"Slytherin!"

Instantly, the smell of old cheese was removed from his head and Edward blinked as the table of students in green and silver robes leapt to their feet and cheered wildly.

Unsmilingly, Edward jumped off from the chair and joined them at their table. He did not like this place. Even though he had done extensive research on the topic of magic with the books Mustang gave him, he still could not believe anything he saw.

It had been ridiculous; walls that you could walk through on train stations, flying broomsticks, pictures that moved. It defied alchemic laws. These people believed that they could wave away their problems with just a stick. No. It couldn't be this simple. Magic, Edward winced internally as he took a seat in the table, was like cheating. If there was something so simple as magic, what did all those years of research on the philosopher's stone mean anymore?

"New kid!" A guy with platinum blonde hair sitting across Edward smirked at him.

"Elric," Edward corrected. He did not like this place and he did not like this guy.

"Yea, yea, name's Malfoy. Heard from my dad that you're a third year like us. But aren't you a little too young?"

Edward's face reddened.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING SO SHORT HE AGES BACKWARDS! I GIVE YOU SHORT YOU WHIZ WHIZ MAGIC KID!"

Malfoy recoiled a little but he narrowed his eyes after a moment and turned his back pointedly away.

Edward slammed his head mentally into the table. This was stupid. He knew the fuhrer told him to get along with the kid. After all, he was the kid's bodyguard no matter how much he did not like it.

The principal- an old geezer was saying something that Edward was tuning out to. Then, he waved an arm and the plates instantly piled up with food.

Edward gave a startled squeak. The food just appeared! What had happened? Where was the equivalent exchange in that? Malfoy whispered something to the two grotesquely obese kids sitting beside him and at an unheard command, the three of them turned their heads in perfect unison to sneer at Edward.

"Never seen magic before? What are you? Some muggle?" Malfoy challenged. Edward remembered reading in some book that a muggle was a person without magic.

"Yea, so what?" Edward lifted his chin in defiance to the stunned gasps of the people in the Slytherin table. Malfoy's eyes narrowed coldly.

"How did you even qualify to start from third grade? And a muggle too! Go back to where you come from!"

Definitely did not like this guy.

Edward sighed. Back at home, people looked up to him with reverence for being the youngest state alchemist in history. Now, he was like dirt in someone's shoe. His assignment was meant to be in secret. Well done, Ed. You made an enemy out of your client even before the lessons began.

Stupid missions.

Edward was about to dig into his meal when he felt a cold chill creep up his arm. He was not aware that he had dropped his fork until he heard it clatter distantly. The food before him blurred and his head whirled.

Somewhere, a boy shrieked.

It took Edward a few moments to identify the voice. It was his. There was a circle. A transmutation circle. Red lights. Blood. There were inscriptions. Of course he knew the inscriptions. He designed the circle. There was a bony dark lump in the centre of the circle. Of course he knew about the monster. He created it. It was his mother.

Somewhere, a boy shrieked. This time, he knew who was screaming.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own FMA or Harry Potter. If I did, I would have made Edward abandon his friends and run away with me. Thanks for the reviews guys! They beat me running away with Edward. Well, not really, but it's very close. ;P**

When Edward opened his eyes, the first thoughts were _Shit. The Malfoy boy died and Mustang was forced to recall me._

Not that lucky.

Edward tried to sit up but someone pushed his back into the bed. He blinked and was startled to see an unfamiliar woman pushing him back into bed. She reminded him a lot of Pinako.

"Wha-" Edward barely finished speaking before a huge slab of chocolate was shoved into his hands.

The Pinako look-alike smiled belligerently at him.

"Eat it. It's for the shock."

Edward almost leapt out of bed. He flung the covers off his body but the motherly woman gave him a look that made him stay in place.

"I heard screaming. Just now in the Great Hall." Edward gasped but the woman shushed him by breaking a chunk of chocolate in his hand and shoving it into his mouth a little less gently than Edward would have wanted. He spat it out reflexively.

"The dementors came too close to the Hall. It shouldn't have caused more than a slight chill but depending on a person's past, it might be more serious for some than others."

Edward did not answer. He knew about dementors from the books he had sceptically flipped through. They were creatures that fed on happiness. Creepy but Edward knew he had to be more careful.

He looked up at the Pinako look-alike who did not move an inch. Realising that she was looking at the chocolate expectantly, Edward crammed it into his mouth and almost choked. It was so rich and so... so good.

As he swallowed the slab of chocolate, a sense of peace crept into him. Edward felt like he was radiating a warm gold glow. Were there bottle of antidepressants in that thing or what?

Nodding in approval, the Pinako look-alike motioned him to leave and walked primly to the bed beside Edward. There was a kid who was missing half his hair. It looked like someone had run a razor through his head.

Edward jumped down from his bed and glanced at his pocket watch. He had been out for almost two hours. By now, he was supposed to be in his dormitories. He knew Syltherins stayed in the dungeons. Edward shuddered slightly at the thought. It sounded dark, dank and stinky. And full of rats. If there were rats, Edward was calling an exterminator and leaving for Central.

He was still studying his watch when he crashed into someone. They both landed onto the ground.

"Ow!" A dark haired boy was rubbing his arm and glaring accusingly at Edward.

"Sorry," Edward apologised automatically. He got up and offered a hand to the boy. He noticed a reddish scar on the boy's head and something clicked in his head.

"You're Harry Potter." It was a statement. Not a question.

The boy glanced at his hand ruefully and sighed, pushing his bangs over his scar to hide it. He took Edward's hand.

"Yea, and you're the new kid."

Edward's eye twitched. He did not like this guy. He wanted to lash out how he was not a kid but it was his fault for bumping into the boy in the first place.

"Edward Elric," Edward introduced simply, hauling the boy to his feet.

Harry Potter smiled his thanks. Then he peered at the Edward's body.

"Wait a minute, are you in Gryffindor?"

Edward was momentarily stunned and shook his head. Potter pointed at his flaming red cloak and said,

"You're wearing so much red. That's Gryffindor's colours." There was something in his voice that sounded like pride. Edward mentally cursed himself for coming in the cloak. It was too flashy.

"Nah, I'm from Slytherin. Speaking of which, do you know where's the Slytherin common room?"

"Uh... yea," Harry muttered ruefully. He sounded as if he had been there before. "I'll take you there."

"Thanks."

Edward had expected Potter to be snobbish and overconfident. After all, he kind of defeated the magical bad guy in his world. He was pleasantly surprised to see he was... normal.

Potter dropped him in front of a wall in the cellars. The place was covered with statues of snakes. They looked so real that Edward swore he saw some of them move in the corner of his eye. Potter muttered a hasty goodbye and retreated.

Edward glanced at the cellar inquisitively. This was the common room? It was small. And there was no one. He touched the huge snake on display out of whim and leapt back when its eyes lit with unnatural green fire.

Suppressing a shiver, the alchemist backed slowly away from it. There was something behind the snake. Squinting his eyes against the dark light, Edward could make out a door hinge. This was the entrance!

The snake was still glaring at him with the fiery eyes and Edward mentally slapped himself. He was supposed to say the password.

"Homunum Wealing" Edward intoned carefully, thinking about how stupid the password sounded.

The fire in the snake's eyes extinguished with an urgency and the door swung open.

Edward left the nasty cellar and emerged into a grand room. It was dark, dank and creepy but definitely grand. It whispered a silent beauty. More snake statues lined against the walls, their bodies curving with impossible grace. The reflection of the green firelight on their scales formed a myriad of colours which danced serenely on the dungeon walls. Edward wished Al could come and enjoy this though he suspected that Al would be more creeped out by the snakes than him.

Edward found a staircase in room and climbed up to the dormitories. It was awfully quiet. Surely, everyone had not gone to sleep yet? It was only eight.

He found his room number and opened the door. He fumbled around, searching for his suitcase and books but all he found was a lacy, pink bra.

He was barely given the chance to turn tail and run when an arm seized him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Oops, I meant to say the dementors fed on misery not happiness. Man, I fail my mystical monster tests. A slightly longer chapter for you guys today. YOUR REVIEWS MAKE ME FEEL GOOOOOD!**

"I'm sorry!" Edward screamed as a whole parade of girls swarmed around him. Someone heavy had pinned him to the ground so his mouth was filled with expensive looking carpet. Since when had there been so many girls?

"I was in the wrong room-" Edward tried to protest but the girls were all shouting and shrieking it was impossible for him to be heard.

Sighing, the alchemist tried to ease the ache on his arm by shifting it a little and waited for punishment. He hoped the one on top of him wasn't dealing it. She had a strong grip.

The strong girl hauled him up into the air and Edward started wriggling madly. Being pinned down by a girl? Sure, he could tolerate that. But being carried around like a five-year old? Someone was going to get thrashed. Screw his policy of not hitting girls.

Edward began to shout obscenities and struggled to break free but the girl had a grip of a lion.

She stopped abruptly and tossed Edward to the ground as if he weighed nothing. They were in the common room.

Getting up to his feet sheepishly, Edward tried to give his most innocent smile. He edged away from the mob of girls slowly until his back was pressed against the dungeon wall.

The lights in the common room flared. The green fire turned bright orange, filling the room with an incandescent glow. Edward shielded his eyes from the glare and when his eyes had finally adjusted to the bright light, there were not only girls, there were guys too.

He was in so much trouble.

"You're late." One of the boys growled. He had whipped cream all over his face.

Edward blinked.

"Welcome to Slytherin!" The girl who had grabbed him sauntered up to Edward and winked salaciously. Edward was ashamed to admit that though she was of shorter stature than him, she still kicked his butt. Remember kids, height isn't everything.

"We had to pause the welcome ceremony to surprise you!" Another girl added. Her remark was met with a healthy guffaw by a boy with a head boy badge.

"You should have seen your face when Amy dumped you in the common room! You looked like you were going to get murdered!"

Edward shifted uncomfortably. Someone pushed a tall paper cup of juice in his hand.

"Come on! Introduce yourself! The first years already did!"

"Uh... yea. My name's Edward Elric and I got transferred here. I used to be home schooled until now and..." Edward recited the story he had prepared back in Central. His eyes scanned the crowd of eager faces until he spotted Malfoy and his two friends skulking in the corner. Ah, his client was here.

Mustang could not recall him yet.

Dang.

He finally made it back to his room when it was way past midnight. Edward was surprised to see that although his room was the standard five beds per room, the other four beds were empty. Edward found his luggage next to a bed closest to the window and picked up the note that was on it.

_Elric,_

_The wand Central ordered for you is in the front pouch of the suitcase. Don't break it. It's expensive._

_Alphonse says you have to remember to drink your milk or you'll not grow. He also says he's brought home a kitten. Four of them actually. He says he misses you and begs your forgiveness because one of the kittens peed on your research journal._

_Mustang_

Mustang's handwriting was scrawled and ungainly, as if he had been half asleep while writing it. Edward glared at the letter before he crushed it in his automail hand. Alphonse was going to have to rewrite the journal for him. Every. Single. Word. That journal contained all his research for the philosopher's stone!

Fuming and wishing that every cat in the world was dead, Edward unclasped his suitcase and pulled out a mahogany wand.

He glared at it and pointed it at him automail arm.

"Give my body back," Edward muttered dangerously. Nothing happened and the alchemist flung the wand across the room.

It was stupid. Nothing was ever that easy.

The first lesson of the day was Care of Magical Creatures or some hocus pocus thing.

Edward stumbled out of the dormitory, bleary-eyed and still needing sleep. He had slept past the whole morning and was dangerously close to being late. Fortunately, his first lesson was in the afternoon or he would have gotten detention already.

He had managed to find the wand he had thrown last night and a huge textbook that actually tried to bite him. Edward was faster though. He just punched the book in the mouth and it did not move after that. Edward sincerely hoped he had not killed the book.

Running down the field, Edward spotted the last stragglers of the class and sprinted faster to catch up with them. He skidded to a halt when he rejoined his house.

The teacher was a giant. How anyone could be so amazingly tall was a wonder to Edward. Eyeing the hairy but tall teacher enviously, Edward wondered if magic could actually make him taller.

The teacher introduced himself as Hagrid and proceeded to ask the students to open their textbooks.

"Professor! We can't! It tried to eat us!" Someone from the crowd shouted. Edward noticed that several students had wrapped their growling textbooks with ropes, duct tape and a healthy length of chains.

Malfoy groaned and slammed his chain-covered book on a slab of boulder.

"Easy," Hagrid muttered in a gruff voice. "Jus' stroke the spine."

Instantly, the growling from the books ceased as everyone stroked the spine. Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"Yea, as if we know."

There was a sudden gust of wind that almost threw Edward off his feet. He regained his balance and squinted against the rush of air to see a giant chimera. Someone had fused an eagle's head to a horse's body. The chimera was beating its wings fiercely, glaring at the students with yellow eyes.

Edward stifled a gasp. The last time he saw a chimera was a nauseating combination of Nina and Alexander's bodies splayed on the ground, blood everywhere. Edward clapped his hands together, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be undercover. He was about to attack when Hagrid soothed the chimera with a grunt.

The chimera relaxed and sank its haunches into the ground. Edward stared. The chimera was tamed?

"It's freaky!" Pansy Parkinson whispered. Edward could understand her sentiments. Forcing himself to breathe normally, Edward let his hands fall limply to his side.

"Firs', bow an' maintain eye contact," Hagrid was instructing. Potter was confidently arching his back to the chimera. When it did not respond for a long time, Edward noticed Potter's shoulders stiffening.

It returned the bow gracefully after a breathless second and Hagrid started urging Potter up the chimera.

"Show off," Malfoy hissed as Potter clambered onto the chimera.

Edward threw him a sidelong glance.

"You know, why don't you try riding that thing if you're so brave?"

Malfoy's eyes narrowed dangerously. Potter was returning from his short flight. His hair was windblown and his expression exhilarated.

"Are you calling me a coward?" Malfoy's threat was a whisper. It would have intimidated others but Edward just scoffed.

"Hey, I'm just saying that the Potter boy can do it. Which means he has more guts than you do."

Potter dismounted from his perch and his legs wobbled. Malfoy threw him a scathing look. Without another word, the Slytherin stalked towards the chimera.

"This is very easy!" Malfoy shouted, loud enough for Potter to hear him. Hagrid started to move towards the boy but he was not fast enough.

"I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it... I bet you're not that dangerous are you? Are you, you great ugly brute?"

The talons flashed. Edward had a horrible image of Nina and her dog smearing the dark alleyway with their gore.

Malfoy shrieked. It was a terrible sound of pain. The talons hooked into his arm and dug out a huge chunk of flesh from his arm.

"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled and both Slytherins and Gryffindors were shouting at each other. Edward's head spun wildly. What had he done?

"I'm dying!" Malfoy repeated, his voice curdled with pain. "Look at me! It's killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" Hagrid shouted and began shouting orders for the students to come help him.

Edward's stomach sank. He did not believe Hagrid. There was so much blood. Malfoy _was_ dying. It was his fault. It was all his fault. He was supposed to be the bodyguard, the one to protect. He was not supposed to be the killer. Edward backed away slowly from Malfoy's bloodcurdling cries of pain, hoping that the further he walked away, the situation just might disappear.


	4. Chapter 4

**I love teasing Ed about his height. That's what makes his so SPASTIC! Review away! So I can be SPASTIC too!**

**You guys wanted updates once a week so updates are now on a weekly basis! ;D**

Malfoy was one of those fair-skinned boys that looked so pale you could see the greenish-blue colour of their veins even from a distance. But now, he was so pale you could practically see the fine line of the capillaries and arteries and veins and the blood. You could see how each vessel throb weakly with the limited life force in them.

Edward was stunned by how fast Pinako look-alike mended his wounds. The flesh had grown back and his arm was swathed with bandages to allow the wound to heal faster. Yet, he was convinced that Malfoy would never recover.

Aside from Parkinson, no one had come to visit him. Edward and the girl had not left his side once.

"It's all my fault," Edward said dejectedly.

Parkinson looked as if she were about to agree and lash out at him. However, she just nodded curtly and clasped Malfoy's hand in hers.

They were surprised when the hand brushed her off in disdain. Edward stared at Malfoy.

"You're awake!" Parkinson shrieked with glee. Malfoy scowled at her and simply waved her away. Instead, he fixed his eyes onto Edward.

"You goaded me," Malfoy stated simply.

Edward nodded, feeling even more horrible with himself. Mustang had sent him a very long letter, telling him how he had screwed up. Apparently, Malfoy's father had relayed everything that had happened to Central. Even so, Edward felt like he deserved more than just an irate letter.

Sure, he still did not like Malfoy but that did not change the fact that he was still wrecked with guilt.

"Whatever," Malfoy groaned and turned on his side. "You're helping me carry my bags until I'm healed. Now get out of here, both of you. I'm going back to sleep."

Edward did not say anything. He stood up wordlessly while Parkinson was still demanding to know if Malfoy was really okay.

Hauling a shrill-voiced fangirl was not Edward's idea of fun but he dragged her out.

In between Parkinson's shrieks, Edward thought he heard Malfoy mutter,

"Thanks for staying."

He whipped his head abruptly but Malfoy's eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and regulated.

"You know, you could just smack him in the head," Potter commented as Edward dragged a whole luggage of textbooks up the stairs. Edward paused to heave for breath.

It was definitely an illusion to hear Malfoy thank him the other day. The kid was making his life hell. Whoever needed a whole set of crystal balls, expensive looking charms and weird flasks filled with gold liquid for a normal potions class? Malfoy was getting his revenge back and Edward had to sourly comply.

All Malfoy had to do was raise his bandaged arm and look miserable and Edward would grudgingly haul a few tonnes of objects up several flight of stairs. Freaking stairs.

Potter's friend, Granger, pointed her wand at the suitcase and announced,

"Locomotor suitcase!"

The suitcase lifted from Edward's arms and floated in midair.

Edward glared at her. Granger was the magic version of Winry and they both shared the same insufferable know-it-allness.

"I'm fine, I can carry it myself."

"Why don't you just say a spell? Come to think of it, I've never seen you use that wand." Ron said, nodding at the wand on Edward's belt.

Edward ignored him and allowed Granger to do the unnatural thing with her stick to the Potions classroom.

Before they entered, Edward gave Granger a nod and she released the spell. Edward grunted with exertion at the sudden weight collapsing into his arms but he finished the last few metres and plonked the items gracelessly in front of Malfoy.

There were a crowd of girls gushing about how brave Malfoy was with the chimera. When they saw Edward, they turned to him and admired how strong and selfless he was. Edward noticed Malfoy's eyebrows knitting when he saw the division of attention.

The only one who was still paying him homage was Pansy Parkinson.

"How is it Draco? Does it hurt much?" She fluttered impossibly long lashes at him.

Edward blanched. If she started calling him Drakey-poo, he was going to puke. However, Malfoy looked sort of pleased with her attention.

"Yeah," he said with a grimace.

"Settle down," Snape said idly and Potter gave him a baleful glare. Edward massaged his sore arms and was about to take his seat beside Malfoy when he glowered at him. Shrugging, Edward took his textbook and moved to sit beside a flustered, round-looking boy who looked like he was going to have an anxiety fit there and then.

Surprisingly, the lesson was alchemy. Though Edward could not see how a newt's ear and a few random eyeballs from different animals could be exchanged for a Shrinking Solution, it was working on the same principal- equivalent exchange.

Unfortunately for the round-faced kid, Snape kept bullying him to near tears. Edward who was progressing at an alarming rate with his potion winced in sympathy as the Gryffindor spilled a suspicious looking liquid into the cauldron, turning his solution into a repugnant orange colour.

Snape hissed under his breath as a foul smell wafted from the cauldron and announced something about testing the potion on his frog. The Gryffindor paled in fear.

When the potions master turned his bag away, Granger began to whisper instructions to the boy who she called Neville.

Edward realised with smug satisfaction that he had finished his potion faster than the magic nerd. After all, state alchemists have titles to live up to.

Snape swiped the air irritably to clear the fumes from Neville's disastrous potion. His eyes widened minutely in surprise when he saw Edward's cauldron.

"Ten points to Slytherin!" Snape called loudly above the cacophony of beakers and test tubes clanking. He studied Edward with a lazy glance.

"You're the new kid, aren't you?"

Edward nodded, resisting the urge to punch him in the face.

"Are you sure you're home schooled? The people here," Snape looked pointedly at a flustered Neville, "have studied this subject for years and their nowhere as adept as you." His gaze hardened and Edward thought he could see suspicion in them. He hoped he was not being overly paranoid.

Edward ducked his head in modest embarrassment but his face was flushed with fear. What if he knows about his mission?

Snape thankfully left him alone after that and Edward sat in his seat, trying to block out Neville's blundering mistakes.

Sure, what he just did was not alchemy. There was no chemical explanation behind what he just did but the basics of making something out of a few ingredients was second nature to Edward. He had to try his best not to stand out too much. He was not here to excel. He was here to be a bodyguard.

He turned to his client who was making Weasley chop his roots. Edward tried not to stare at his bandage but could not stop the guilt from eating him.

He was going to pay for this sin. Lucius Malfoy, his employer, had not contacted him so far but the radio silence made Edward feel even more nervous. What was strange was that this place did not have a telephone so he had no way to call his employer and vice versa. How do people even communicate here?

As if an answer, a paper aeroplane's sharp end jabbed into his flesh.

Edward slapped at it and turned around to see Malfoy grinning at him. It was not a very nice smile.

Edward unfolded the aeroplane and saw an animated drawing of him drowning in his cauldron of Shrinking Solution. The picture of him thrashed in the cauldron and started shrinking until it was no more than a tiny dot.

Yup, great communication here.

Edward promptly turned around and did some communication with Malfoy over the inaccurate height innuendos.


	5. Chapter 5

**Malfoy is such an adorable jerk, no? But jerks need things to feed their ego. Like reviews. Hehehehe.**

**Oh, and for those who want to know, I upload every Monday evening (US timing) ;D**

Edward eventually grew bored of waiting around and staring blankly while people roamed around for ingredients.

He noticed Granger still instructing Neville at the corner of her mouth and as Neville tried to pour a solution of squished boogers, Edward caught his hand firmly before he could tilt the solution into his frothing cauldron.

"What are you doing?" Granger demanded quietly.

"It would be better if you added sodium hydroxide," Edward explained. "This would cancel out the effects of the chopped up ears he accidentally threw in and change it to a less harmful form of water."

Granger stiffened. "That's a muggle chemical. We don't use that here. It's called potions for something and we're supposed to follow what it says in the textbook."

Edward shrugged and tipped the chemical on his desk into the cauldron. Instantly, the colour turned from foul orange to green.

"What did you just do?" Granger was almost wailing in dismay. "You ruined the entire potion. This will kill Neville's toad!"

Neville just stared at his toad, unsure if he wanted to say the last rites or kiss it with joy.

Just then, Snape called the class to gather around Neville's table. There was a mix of anticipation and concern in everyone's faces. Malfoy was laughing wildly to his two followers. Granger was giving Edward a you-screwed up- glare.

Scooping up a murky slop of liquid with a spoon, Snape fed it to the toad. The toad allowed the potion to fester in its mouth for a while before its throat swelled and it swallowed the potion. Neville leaned forward as far as he could go in his seat. He was gripping the table in fear.

Granger was now flashing Edward a frantic I-told-you-so look which Edward dutifully ignored. When nothing happened, Granger was now giving the what-are-you-going-to-do-about-this-now-that-you-murdered-an-innocent-toad-and-disgraced-Neville-in-front-of-the-class-and-Professor-Snape-looks-especially-scary-today look.

Then, the toad became a tadpole in Snape's hand which stunned Edward who did not expect the potion to work. That broke the cardinal rules of alchemy!

The Gryffindors whooped and applauded while the Slytherins looked sullen. Edward rearranged his face to look sullen as well. When in Rome, do as Romans do.

Snape sniffed contemptuously and dipped the tadpole in a clear solution and it returned to its original form. Edward stared at it, star struck. This! This sorcery could very well be what he needed to return to Al and him to their bodies. Maybe that was why the good for nothing Colonel assigned him to this job.

"Five points from Gryffindor!" Snape said nasally to Granger who was now giving Edward the how-did-you-do-that look. Granger stared at the potions professor in shock.

"I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed."

Edward stiffened in his seat. Although Snape had addressed his comment to Granger, he was studying Edward with narrowed eyes. Several students followed his gaze to look at Edward curiously. When most of the students had cleared from their table and Neville skipped out of the dungeons hugging his toad, Snape sauntered in an oily manner to Edward.

He did not even look at the young alchemist.

"I don't know how you could have salvaged that potion. No wizard could anyway. An advice," this time Snape looked at Edward in the eyes. Edward had to force himself not to tear away from the chilling, empty gaze.

"Don't try anything stupid here."

Edward barely made it in time for lunch. He had been hauling Malfoy's whole suitcase of textbooks back into his room the whole time. When he jumped off the last few steps and sprinted into the Great Hall, he forced himself to ignore the curious gazes of about a hundred of students and teachers.

"Food!" Edward moaned as he dived into his seat and stuffed forkfuls of ham into his mouth. His fingers still fumbled when he used the fork. It was a strange feeling not to have the feel of a pair of sturdy chopsticks in his grip.

"So good," Edward sighed, his mouth full.

"Here," Amy said, licking a napkin and dabbing it on Edward's face. Edward cringed in disgust. Malfoy laughed.

"Oooh, Eddy needs his mommy to clean up after his wee wee."

"What the heck does that even mean?" Edward shot back. Malfoy was about to retort when he glanced up sharply. An owl had swooped into the room, its beak clipped onto a letter. The owl was handsome and well preened.

"Abacus!" Malfoy said, grinning at the admiring gazes the students were giving the magnificent creature.

"My father's bird," Malfoy said by way of explanation. He looked smug.

The owl landed on the Slytherin table and dropped the letter in front of Edward.

"Elric?" Malfoy said incredulously. "What does my father want with you?"

"You didn't tell him about the chimera incident, did you?"

"The chime- what?"

"Er... the creature during Hagrid's lesson," Edward amended hastily.

Malfoy scoffed. "Of course I did. How else would you expect that giant brute to get fired? But what does that have to do with you- oh!" Understanding dawned on Malfoy's face. His face broke into a gleeful grin.

"I did tell him about how you goaded me into getting injured too. Open it. I want to see your face when my father deals with you."

Edward tried to relax his facial muscles and force an unnatural smile. What Malfoy did not know was that Lucius Malfoy was Edward's employer.

"Whatever." Edward said, standing up too quickly. He put on a mask of indifference and casually swiped the letter from the dinner table.

Edward bumped into seven people before returning to his dormitory. The responses ranged from good natured 'watch where you're going' to the finger. Edward did not care. He was breathless with dread when he slit open the seal and opened the envelope.

Bright green light blossomed from the envelope and Edward shielded his eyes from the harsh glare. When he could see again, he saw a green image of Lucius Malfoy bending over a table, writing with a quill and frowning in concentration. Tentatively, Edward tried to touch the hologram but his fingers brushed through air.

Then Lucius Malfoy glanced up sharply and _looked_ at him.

His concentrated expression switched to fury but his voice was calm and pleasant.

"Edward Elric, state alchemist of Amestris." Lucius nodded at him. Edward could see an uncanny resemblance between father and son.

Edward saluted.

"Reporting for duty, sir!"

"What duty?" Lucius's voice was now a sibilant hiss. His words became thick and snake-like. Edward tried not to gulp. He was in so much trouble.

"Edward Elric," Lucius continued. "You were assigned by Bradley to be my son's bodyguard."

Edward gave a start of surprise. So Lucius and the Fuhrer were on first name basis.

"Judging by the events during the past few days, you have obviously failed." Lucius's eyes were like coals. "My son lost the use of his arm and as his protector, I believe it is imperative you give him your arm in return. What do you call it in your little home? Ah yes, equivalent exchange."

"So you're saying you want me to get my arm torn up by a chimera?" Edward asked, boldly waggling his appendage at Lucius. His false attempt at bravado failed.

Lucius gave him a cold look and Edward stopped waving his arm.

"No, I'll severe it myself."

With that, he reached out towards Edward, brandishing a stick in his hand. One of his arms caught Edward in the face. Edward was both stunned by the pain and the fact the Lucius Malfoy could actually touch him.

"Hey!" Edward shouted as Lucius jabbed the stick into his shoulder blade and shouted some intelligible words.

There was a loud ripping noise- the sound of clothes tearing and the sound of slashing.

Edward grinned.

"Ha! Wrong arm!" His automail gleamed triumphantly but Lucius did not seem surprised by the mechanical arm.

"I know," Lucius said, stopping Edward cold. "I know everything about you, Edward Elric, son of Hohenheim and Trisha. That was merely a warning. I am the one paying you for the services, but let anything happen to my son again, you'll be paying with your real arm."

The envelope burst into smithereens of green light. The image was gone and suddenly, the room felt very lonely. Edward gathered his ripped clothes up and seeing that they could not be salvaged, clapped his hands together and repaired them with alchemy.

He had to write to Al. Make sure he was alright. Lucius knew about him. He knew too much about him. Which meant he had to know about Al too.

Edward tried not to let the fear overcome him. He wanted badly to return to Central to see if Al was okay. Al could take care of himself, sure. But he could not trust his brother to defend himself against hocus pocus stick wielders.

Edward pulled out a quill and a parchment and wrote:

_Al, _

_I'm killing you for soiling my journal. When I get back, you are to copy every single word, cancellation and ink spill perfectly. _

Edward paused.

_Be safe._

_E. Elric_


	6. Chapter 6

**Introducing Lupin! His name sounds so happy. What doesn't make me happy are lizards. EWWWW! How something so small can be so horrifying, I'll never know.**

"I have to use a stick for this course?" Edward breathed to himself when he consulted his timetable. Despite the cool sounding name, Defence against the Dark Arts did not sound so cool now.

Pulling out the wand and his textbook from his suitcase, Edward marched to his first afternoon class of the day. He met Crabbe on the way out of the dormitory and held a very meaningful conversation with him on what is the best food served in the Great Hall.

All reason goes to show that evidently, the spaghetti with the unhealthy helpings of cheese was the best. However, Crabbe thought the parfaits were divine. Edward tried not to snort too loudly. This man had no sense of taste.

When Edward walked into the classroom, he was surprised at the _teacher's_ lack of taste. His clothes were shabby and well worn. It looked like he had put them in the washing machine much longer than necessary and put them in the ageing machine after that. Seeing what these hocus pocus people could do, Edward was not the least bit astonished if they had an ageing machine.

He found Malfoy and sat next to him. Malfoy, sadly, caught the last vestiges of their intellectual debate.

"I thought you were smarter than Crabbe!" Malfoy exclaimed in exasperation.

"Hey!" Edward retorted. "Lay off! Food is a very academic subject."

"Someone change seats with me!" Malfoy cried and Pansy Parkinson immediately made some space at her table for him. Malfoy remained where he was.

"Malfoy, listen," Edward said, ignoring the fact that Malfoy was throwing his hands up in the air. "Which one do you think has a better texture? Semi-melted mozzarella cheese on smooth, silky spaghetti? Or a lump of cold ice cream?"

Malfoy exhaled loudly. "I can't believe-"

"Just answer the question! It's important!"

"Neither! I like the mushroom soup."

There was a long silence.

"Why did I not think of the soup? Of course! The soup is a perfect blend of texture and tastiness. It's not too rich like most soups and not too watered down!" Edward gushed while Crabbe nodded furiously and supplied his tirade with 'uh huh's.

It could be a reflection of the light but Edward could have sworn that Malfoy's lips twitched upwards a little.

"Books away!" The professor called as the stragglers for the class entered the room. "Wands out! And follow me!"

They saw a ghost on the way out of the class called Peeves. Edward thought he behaved a little like Winry when she had her ladies thing.

"Inside, please," Lupin instructed and the class filed along the staffroom. It was empty except for Snape. Snape muttered something about Neville to Lupin and left the room. At the same time, he shot Edward a meaningful look. Edward tried not to shiver.

There was a sudden rumble in the wardrobe and Edward paled. Malfoy sneered at him.

"Scared, Elric?"

"Nah, that was just my stomach."

The wardrobe rattled harder and Lupin explained that it was a boggart.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces like this wardrobe. This one moved in yesterday afternoon and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to my third years for some practise. So, what is a boggart?"

"Something that comes out from your nose?" Edward said idly to Crabbe. Crabbe responded with a well thought-out 'uh huh'.

"It's a shape shifter," Lupin said when no one answered. "It takes on the shape of whatever it thinks frightens us the most."

Lupin went on to explain how the boggart gets confused easily with a large group of people while Edward took out his wand and studied it. How was he going to use it if he had not even tried? How could he even be sure if he could use magic?

"Lizards."

Edward jerked his head up and saw Victoria reciting what scared her the most.

"Those household ones right?" Lupin said sympathetically and Victoria nodded.

"I want you to imagine the lizard wearing, say, pyjamas or anything that comes to mind when I open the door on the count of three. One, two, three, now!"

A gigantic lizard, as tall as Lupin himself, emerged silently from the wardrobe, tongue flickering.

"Ridikkulus!" Victoria shouted and the creature transformed into creature with a bad fashion sense. It was wearing luscious red high heels on all four stumpy legs and a tight fitting dress. The dress. Gosh, the dress was horrible.

"Parkinson! Forward!"

Parkinson's greatest fear, apparently was herself with smudged eyeliner and a Mohawk. Pansy Parkinson looked scandalously at her twin.

"Ridikkulus!" At the wave of her wand, her twin transformed into Malfoy. Edward saw Malfoy blanch.

"Crabbe!"

Food with vegetables.

"Goyle!"

Vegetables.

"Frodo!"

A screaming zombie with no eyeballs.

"Malfoy!"

Edward watched curiously as Malfoy walked up to the boggart. It paused for a moment. Then shifted into his father. Malfoy's face turned red with mortification when he realised what his greatest fear was. He just snorted derisively and waved the image of his father to be reduced to nothing but a puddle of water. Malfoy was afraid of his father? But didn't he rant every single day about how awesome his father was?

"This is crap. I'm not some scared little boy," Malfoy spat and stalked back to the group of students.

"Elric!"

Edward stepped up with the stick and looked at the puddle of water. The first thought that came unbidden to his mind was Colonel Mustang and some blonde girl. He had accidentally walked in on them once in Mustang's office. It had traumatised him for life. Edward prepared himself mentally to change the girl into a puppy and Mustang into a pile of dog poop.

The boggart warped in front of him to change into a transmutation circle. A large one. There was nothing on it. Just words. Words only Edward could understand.

"NO!" Edward whispered while his classmates oohed in amazement at the intricate design.

Why was a transmutation circle here? In a hocus pocus magic school? It should not be here. It should not even exist. The scientific part of Edward allowed the chemical formulas to run unbidden in his mind. The human part wanted to scream.

The room darkened and the chalk markings on the circle emitted a muted purple light. Someone murmured how pretty it was.

A hand reached out from the ground and slowly, a mangled body was pulling itself from the ground. The oohing stopped. The creature's hair was matted and dry. Its bony chest heaved with exertion and it collapsed onto the ground, limp and exhausted. The body was emaciated, too thin. Too unnatural.

"Stop it!" Edward whispered, backing away from the thing.

The thing raised an unnaturally crooked finger at him. Bones were not supposed to bend like that. The thing's face cracked into a gruesome smile. Its haunting, empty eyes were gleeful.

Eyes that could keep every child awake every night. Eyes that could chill adults to the bone. Eyes that were his mother's.

Edward whimpered and backed away from the thing but it tried to beckon him closer with that crooked finger. Stop it. He was the State alchemists. State alchemists deal with these all the time. He was not afraid.

"Edward," it purred. It was his mother's voice.

"Stop it!" Edward screamed, slamming his hands against his ears. Make it stop. Make the thing stop.

And it stopped.

Edward was still staring at the ground where his mother had been. He glanced up to see Lupin waving away a silvery orb.

"Edward, what-" Lupin never got to finish.

Edward ran out of the staffroom. He opened a door to a random classroom and flung himself into the darkest corner of the empty room. The darkness suffocated him, bringing back the memories of the thing.

But he did not care.

It was a small price to pay for the sin he had committed.


	7. Chapter 7

**I LOVE Vic Mignogna. 'nuff said.**

The Slytherins did not like Professor Lupin. For one, he had sullied the reputation of their prized member, Malfoy. For another, he had made one of their own experience something so traumatising. Slytherins do not like people messing with their own even if that person was a brand new member with a metal arm.

Edward thought Malfoy was being overly defensive. Malfoy had gone around claiming that Lupin had conjured up the image of his father on purpose because he was poor and desperate enough to try to suck up to his family.

Lessons had thankfully been uneventful. They were learning to take care of Flobberworms in Care of Magical Creatures and it was a boring job. Good, Edward had enough of exciting jobs. It was a good thing that none of the Slytherins brought up the incident with the boggart. No one wanted to know what the thing was or what the circle meant. They just knew it was a topic that denied anyone from venturing deep into it.

It was Potter who was the first one to talk to him about it after potions one day.

"I heard about the boggart. People kept talking about a corpse rising from the ground and how you freaked out."

Edward rounded on him, eyes blazing.

"I did NOT freak out! It was nothing. I just saw it in a cheesy horror movie ok! It was nothing!"

Before Edward could storm off, Potter grabbed his arm.

"Wait. I've got the same problem too but mine is with dementors. Maybe you could learn some defence spells to-"

"I don't want to," Edward said coldly and walked away. Stupid hocus pocus people. As if magic would work against the Gate.

The next time Edward saw Lupin was another practical lesson. This time, he strayed to the back of the group. Malfoy and his buddies stayed at the head of the group and made loud, snide comments whenever Lupin said anything.

"Today, we're doing defensive spells and shields. Form pairs and when one person tries to attack, the other shields. Use disarming spells only when attacking."

Lupin continued his lecture and Edward saw Malfoy head to the back of the group. It had been days of stalking Malfoy but Edward could not see any reason why he needed a bodyguard. Except for threats from the Weasley kid and death glares from Potter and Granger, Malfoy was in no real danger. Still, Edward kept observing him.

"Elric!" Malfoy shouted, even though Lupin was still talking. "Pair with me."

Edward nodded impassively.

When Lupin allowed them to practise, Malfoy's laugh glittered like knives.

"Man, I want to see how good you are if you can make it to the third year just by being home schooled. Last lesson, you were such a wimp."

Edward bit back a retort about Malfoy's own vision with the boggart. Lucius would kill him if he said anything wrong.

As Malfoy pulled out his stick, Edward realised with a sinking pit of dismay, that it was going to be the first time he was using his stick.

Briefly, he remembered that the incantation for a shield spell was Protego. But he had no idea if it would work.

"Elric! You're weak!" Malfoy shouted. "Stupefy!"

Edward thought that Malfoy's spell was going to make him stupid and he stupidly did not react fast enough. The spell shot him in the chest and Edward was flung backwards. He landed heavily on the ground and when he got up gingerly, Malfoy was in hysterics.

"Impedimenta!" Malfoy shouted mercilessly.

"Protego!" Edward retaliated before the beam of light hit him. Nothing happened. There was no shield. Edward tripped and fell flat on his face. His cheeks burned with shame.

"Diffindo!" Malfoy snarled, aiming at Edward's braid.

_Oh no you don't. Not the hair._

Edward barely managed to dodge the spell in time but it ripped through the uniform. Edward clapped a hand on where Malfoy had ripped his sleeve.

Instantly, the bloodlust left Malfoy and he looked a little worried.

"Hey! Elric! Can't let a little cut bother you can you?"

Edward did not reply, gathering up his sleeve in his gloved hand.

"What's the matter? Afraid of glowy circles?" Malfoy said. Without waiting for an answer, he shouted,

"Stupefy!"

Edward felt the bunched up cloth his fist fall from his fingers as he was flung backwards again. Part of the uniform fluttered away.

Lupin was shouting at Malfoy to use gentler spells but no one was listening. They were all staring at Edward's shoulder where a bit of the cloth had torn off.

Gasping for breath, Edward looked at his own shoulder to survey the damage. The uniform was ripped only a little, giving everyone the barest glimpse of his automail. Edward clasped his gloved hand over the metal surface to shield it from prying eyes.

"Elric, can you stand?"

Edward glanced up to see Lupin offering him a hand. Reluctantly, Edward took it and stood up wobbly. The spell that Malfoy had flung at him was still making him feel lightheaded.

"What's that?" Pansy Parkinson asked. Her voice was nasal and unpleasant today as if she had caught a cold.

Everyone was looking at Edward expectantly.

"I... It's temporary. It's just my-"

"DIFFINDO!" Malfoy roared before Edward could finish. The flash of bright light cut where the remaining strands of cloth were holding onto the sleeve. The dark green uniform blasted off to reveal the full glory of his automail. Edward winced. He was in so much trouble.

"Malfoy! Enough! Twenty points from Slytherin for attacking your own classmate!"

Malfoy gave a smug shrug though he could not tear his eyes away from Edward's arm.

"But you _told_ us to, Professor."

Lupin ignored him. "Elric! You need to get that arm seen by Madam Pomferry now. If not, we can ask the headmaster to lower the spells and apparate you to St Mungo's."

There was a fierce urgency in his voice. Wimps, Edward thought. Haven't they seen any automail in their lives before? And there was no way Edward was going to have his arm fixed by some hocus pocus stick. He was going to find a permanent, reliable, scientific way. And his brother was getting his body back before him.

There were similar rules in the hocus pocus world and his hometown. One of them was not to bring back the dead. Edward doubted his arm and leg would return when he had broken the laws in both worlds. It was better if he did not have to explain why his limbs did not grow back if the spell failed. Edward thought his mental reasoning sounded stupid. But he did not want the cut any more corners.

"NO!" Edward hissed before Lupin could lug him off to see the Pinako look-alike. In a softer voice, Edward lied, "I... I want it like that... as a reminder."

"But-"

"It was an accident that happened when I was a kid and it was all my fault," Edward interrupted tersely. His classmates were glancing from his automail to his face and back again.

"I just- I just want it like this until I can correct my mistake" _and return my brother's body back._

"But it's a prosthetic!" One of his classmates who took Muggle Studies protested. "It shouldn't work in Hogwarts! No muggle stuff would!"

That would explain the lack of telephones. Maybe it was because his nerves at his severed shoulder were still working. Pinako had said it was lucky that the nerves were still alive when she fitted on his first automail so for Edward, the automail could work like a normal arm to him.

"It's magic," Edward lied and gathered up the bunch of cloth which had fallen from his shoulder.

Lupin glanced at the awestruck class and sighed. There would be no one paying attention after this.

"Ok, homework is reading the textbook pages 43 to 70 on defensive spell theory. Class dismissed. Elric, I'd still want you to see Madam Pomferry. She might know a little spells that could work with that arm."

Instantly, everyone clustered around Edward. Malfoy's eyes were glinting dangerously.

"Elric! What accident were you talking about?"

"Can it move normally?"

"Why is it metal? Couldn't you ask for a flesh version?"

"Does it rust?"

"Can I touch it pleeeease?"

It took Edward snarled apologies, clubbing a boy on the head for getting too close and ten whole minutes to escape the crowd staring at him. He wrapped his torn sleeve over his shoulder so it would hide the metal glint and sprinted to his dormitory.

He was so grateful that he had the entire room to himself for once.

Edward stared at the stick in his hand for a while then pointed at the torn sleeve.

"Reparo!"

Nothing happened. Edward sighed and flung the stick aside. Brilliant. He had to survive a year in a magic school, follow a kid around the school compound, worry about his ass being kicked by Lucius Malfoy, make sure his cover was not blow, and pretend he could do magic.

Wait a minute. He did not have to survive a whole year. Edward clapped his hands and fixed the sleeve back in place. It felt so good to be able to do alchemy again.

With a maniac grin, Edward grabbed a parchment and quill and wrote a very nice letter to that ass Mustang to let him go back home because he was not competent to finish the job. He ran out of the common room again, ignoring the stares of his classmates who had just returned from Lupin's lesson. Many of them begged him to show them his automail again.

Edward found the Owlery, a place where he could deliver letters with the help of Sir Cadogan who threatened to cut off Edward's head first before gleefully embarking on the quest to find the room.

Surprisingly, the Owlery actually had owls. It also smelt very strongly of bird droppings. Most bird droppings do not smell. Owl droppings smelt like... owls. It was a musky, bird-like smell that made Edward wrinkle his nose instantly.

An owl flew down to him and Edward noticed a piece of string on its leg. Remembering how Malfoy's owl had the note attached to the string, Edward swiftly tied his parchment onto the owl's leg.

The owl cooed softly and cocked its head.

"Oh... er... Give this to Colonel Mustang in Central, Amestris." Edward told the owl who nodded wisely. Edward chuckled as he imagined Mustang's face when an owl flew into the room.

"Oh, and could you please poop on his head?" Edward gave the bird a wide grin and the owl took off out of the window.


	8. Chapter 8

**If you've never smelt owl droppings, go smell them. **

The reply from Central came at breakfast the next day. Edward was surprised to see the owl carrying a package in its beak. He was even more surprised to see the bird diving down at him and attempting to rip the braid of his head.

Edward shrieked in agony as the owl attempted to tug his hair from his roots.

"Damn you Mustang!" Edward screamed, loud enough for everyone in the Great Hall to hear. The headmaster raised an amused eyebrow at him. Malfoy smirked. Crabbe and Goyle tried unsuccessfully to swat the owl away and got bitten themselves.

"Had enough?" Edward growled when the owl finally relented. The owl extended its leg to Edward who untied the envelope and parcel on it. The parcel was rather light and Edward left it on the table. It could be the owl droppings he had told the owl to put strategically on Mustang's head.

Edward tore the letter open eagerly, hoping to find his appeal approved.

_Fullmetal,_

_You're not allowed to go back to Central until you've finished your job. The wand I gave you initially was just a stick that Black Hayate was chewing on. This is the real wand. Hawkeye discovered it on my table. She's making me apologise. Sorry._

_Mustang_

_P.S. Thanks for nothing, Fullmetal. Your stupid owl ruined my date with Lisa. She kept saying I had bad body odour even after I washed my hair three times before meeting her._

There was a bit of blood on the 'sorry'. Edward suspected that Hawkeye had shot Mustang when he refused to write the word. Still, Mustang apologised. Edward was going to frame it up. But it still meant that Edward had no more legit excuses to go back home.

"Could you go back and poop on Mustang's head again?" Edward asked the bird who stared at him loftily before flying back to the Owlery.

"Who's Mustang?" A Slytherin girl asked. She was a year older than Edward and was giving him a very vapid smile.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Another girl pestered before Edward could answer. Edward had the self-control of shaolin masters who train by sitting under the waterfalls not to burst out laughing at that. Ever since gossip about his automail had spread through the whole school, Edward was beginning to get adoring fans from the fairer sex. He had to tell Winry that her automail was sexy.

"Eh... Mustang is my playmate when I was a kid. She's convinced that she's the most amazing person in the world and ah... desires my body."

The Slytherin girls all pursed their lips in unison and the air was getting stonier. Even Malfoy had the sense to shift away from them. Edward was laughing dementedly inside.

"Here's her address," Edward said, writing on a piece of napkin. "You can write to him... I mean... her and tell her that she has ugly hair. And how she should just marry Black Hayate, that's her dog, because she's obsessed with dogs."

The air grew heavier and Edward gulped. The girls must have seen past him. They knew he was making fun of them. He was so screwed.

However, the girl one year his senior snatched the napkin from Edward's hand and begun conversing with the other girls in low whispers about how they should deal with this Mustang fellow.

Inconspicuously, Edward slipped the parcel into his robes. He did not want to explain why his wand was in a parcel.

Edward saw Goyle looking stupidly at the Slytherin girls who were arguing which word in the female dictionary was most appropriate to describe the Colonel.

"It's the metal arm," he said in a conspiring whisper. "It's dead sexy."

Goyle nodded understandingly but he still had a dull expression on his face.

"So Elric," Malfoy said, casually avoiding a flying elbow as one of the girls tried to grab the quill. "Are you going to Hogsmeade tonight?"

Hogs-what? Edward's mind raced as he tried to remember when that name appeared in his textbooks.

"Uh..."

"You didn't get your permission slip signed?" Parkinson exclaimed, looking as though Edward had committed a crime.

"No but-"

"It's the most amazing place!" Parkinson rambled, not hearing Edward. "Wait till you see Zonko's shop! Oh and the Three Broomsticks! I hear they sell the most amazing butterscotch meade and oh, the Shrieking Shack is so scary! Draco! Won't you go into the shack with me?"

"Hogsmeade has nice muffins," Goyle contributed and that was all Edward needed to know.

Edward's face fell. "No, I didn't get my slip signed."

"Go ask Professor Snape," suggested a girl who had been eyeing Edward quietly for a while. She looked startled when Edward turned to look at her and blushed deeply. Back in Amestris, automail was never this awesome.

Talking to Snape was the last thing on Edward's mind. No doubt, the rumours of his automail had spread to the teachers even though it was only one day since his automail was exposed. That would make Snape even more suspicious of him. But the thought of muffins and Goyle's dreamy expression motivated Edward to find Snape after Potions.

When the class had filed out of the dungeons, Edward approached Snape's desk. Snape made no move to leave the dungeons. Instead, he started throwing a whole bunch of ingredients into the cauldron. There was an old encyclopaedia lying open on the table and the ingredients looked very complicated. The title for it was Wolfsbane. Edward hoped he had not caught Snape at the wrong time.

"Professor?" Edward began tentatively.

"Yes Elric?" Snape said, not looking up from his complicated alchemy.

"I was wondering if you could sign my permission slip to Hogsmeade."

"Haven't you asked your parents, Elric?"

There was a flash of heat as Edward thought about his father. And mother.

"My father left when I was young and my mother just passed away last year," Edward said truthfully. He felt the words burn in his tongue as he said the word 'father'. Hohenheim was not his father.

"That's why you only joined this year," Snape mused, stopping his alchemy for a while to study Edward who stammered a yes in reply.

"Your mother was your teacher, am I right? She taught you well." Snape began to throw more ingredients into the bubbling cauldron. Edward did not reply.

"I'll sign the form for you. Pick it up from my office at noon."

"T... thanks sir!" Edward said and backed out of the room. He could not believe it was so easy. Why would Snape do that for him? Was there something at Hogsmeade that he did not know? Or was Snape just nice to Slytherins in general? Or maybe he knew something about his mission as Malfoy's bodyguard.

The last thought chilled Edward and when he turned around to glance back at the dungeon, Snape was glaring at him with cold, narrowed eyes.

**Next week's chapter will be longer! Keep reviewing please! ;D**

**Since I'm in an Edward Elric fangirl mode now, here is me trying to be Ed: **

** gallery/#/d54mqbt**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm too sexy for my automail. Too sexy for my automail. Too sexy it huuuuurts. Automail is sexy. So are reviews.**

"Say, Ed, can I see that metal arm of yours?" Weasley asked as soon as Edward had escaped from the dungeons. Edward suppressed a shocked yelp. Moments before, he was trying to shake away the eerie feeling when he was with Snape. Now, he was trying not to let his body jump out of his skin and automail.

"What?" Edward demanded loudly, rubbing his human arm frantically to get the feeling back.

Granger was staring at the right arm that was frantically chaffing the human one. Potter was trying not to gape at Edward.

"Show us your arm, please? C'mon, you're our best buddy aren't you?" Weasley whined. Edward wished he could transmute his lips shut together.

"Ron!" Granger chided severely. "It's a sensitive issue! People don't like to talk about how their ex girlfriends tried to hack off their body parts."

"Wait a minute," Edward interrupted. "WHAT?"

Granger glanced down quickly. "We just heard some Slytherin girls talking about it and we were concerned. Something about a Mustang girl."

Edward rolled his eyes.

"My ex never tried to cut open my body. It was an accident. I don't want to talk about it."

"But-"

"Look, Potter," Edward hissed. "Do you want me to ask how you come by that scar? Same thing. I don't want to talk about it."

"Edward," Granger was giving him a pleading look. "We're you're friends. We are concerned."

"Friends know when to back off."

Edward turned on his heel and started to leave when Weasley called him back in the same cheery voice as if nothing had happened.

"Hey Elric! You're going to Hogsmeade right? We'll see you there tonight!"

"Yea! I got Professor Snape to sign my form."

Edward noticed Potter and his friends exchanging outraged looks. Was it something he said? It was obvious that Potter and Snape did not like each other though.

Amy was waiting for Edward outside the transfiguration classroom and Edward smiled sheepishly at her as a greeting. He could never let down the time when Amy had beaten him in strength. She was almost as strong as Winry.

They went to class together and Edward set behind Malfoy where he could keep an eye on him. Sooner or later, Edward was going to become the boy's shadow. The bodyguard business sucked. Next time he was assigned to a job like this, Edward was going to be smart enough to hide under his bed for a month.

Transfiguration was the lesson Edward hated the most. It was basically human transmutation. The teacher, a stern looking woman who really needed one of Armstrong's sparkles to make her look happier, had transformed effortlessly into a cat. Despite the fact that she had done it right in front of the class, Edward refused to believe it.

The Transfiguration textbook was the only textbook he had refused to read. It was also the class which Edward slept throughout all the lessons.

McGonagall, like any other teacher, loved to call on students who were sleeping. Edward's lack of knowledge in the area had stunned her on the first lesson. Every teacher had praised Edward for his brilliance. It was probably a nasty surprise for McGonagall to learn that Edward was not as brilliant as her colleagues had professed.

"Elric," McGonagall called out. The teacher had a way of making her voice sound scary even though she never shouted.

Edward raised his head from the table. He noticed his braid had come undone in his sleep. Edward yawned and pretended to pay attention. Unfortunately, McGonagall was not convinced by his performance.

"Elric, you've been sleeping since the beginning of term and my patience is wearing thin. You are not permitted to go to Hogsmeade tonight unless you can answer this question right. If you can't, you are doing extra remedial classes with me tonight."

Edward sat up straight, stunned. No way was he going to do extra classes on human transmutation. He threw Amy a pleading look. Amy shrugged.

"What is Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration?"

Edward wished Gryffindor shared the same class as Slytherin for this subject. Granger would know all the answers. Edward glanced at Amy who was trying to mouth the answer to him without being caught. But Edward was no lip reader. He decided to go along with the law he was most familiar with.

"To obtain something, something of equal value must be exchanged," Edward recited confidently.

McGonagall's eyes widened a little.

"In a way, yes. Just like how you cannot create food out of thin air. But you can duplicate or enlarge food if you have it. I'm surprised, Elric. This is the first time you've answered correctly."

Edward sank into his seat, relieved.

When Edward returned to his dormitory, he pulled out the package and unearthed a slender stick from the folds of paper.

"Locomotor chair!" Edward said experimentally, brandishing the stick at the comfortable armchair at the corner of the dormitory. The chair began to move towards him.

With a gasp, Edward dropped the stick and the chair clunked onto the floor loudly. Edward looked disgustedly at the stick and went to wash his hand to get rid of the foul feeling of magic. He felt violated and writhed at the thought of using a wand again. It felt so wrong.

A sudden knock on the door made Edward drop the stick. He tucked it gingerly into his bedside table and took the fake wand which Mustang had sent him instead. Edward opened the door to see Crabbe and Goyle clutching fat wallets and looking gleeful.

"Hogsmeade!" Crabbe said, infusing the word with so much joy and wonder that Edward could not help but share his excitement. Usually, Edward would try his best to hide his enthusiasm whenever the topic of food came up so that his brother would not feel left out. In a way, Edward was secretly glad that Al could not come to Hogsmeade.

Edward charged down to the common room with Crabbe and Goyle hot on his heels. He was going to be the first person to try the muffins.

"Malfoy!" Edward yelled, spotting Malfoy doing an impression of Potter swooning in front of dementors. "Hogsmeade! Now!"

Malfoy glared at Edward but made no move to hurry towards the hungry-eyed trio. Instead, he finished his impression with a shell-shocked face which Edward had to admit, was very good and sent his followers howling with laughter.

"Shame, Potter has to stay back since he's too scared to get past the dementors," Malfoy commented, eyes glinting. Edward just nodded and urged his client's son out of the common room.

They were barely out of the dungeons when Edward heard Dumbledore and Snape talking.

"Remember to give him the potion before tonight, Severus," Dumbledore was saying severely. Edward and his friends paused to listen, ducking behind a large snake statue so that they would not be seen. Malfoy's lips curled up with interest.

"Yes, sir," Snape replied idly. So it was not just students that he took his oily tone with.

"And give him an extra flask just in case anything happens. We don't want to endanger our students."

"Yes, sir." This time, there was a hint of annoyance in Snape's voice.

Dumbledore detected it and cocked his head.

"Is there something bothering you, Severus?"

"Yes," Snape hissed with vehemence. "I told you about Remus and the Elric kid before. There's something off about Elric. Why did you let him stay when he has not gone through the first two years?"

Edward froze and he could feel Malfoy's gaze trained on their house head.

"I already told you, Severus, that the boy is exceptionally talented and I've received a recommendation letter from-"

"He is too talented! In Potions at least, but he is stupider than a first grader in Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures."

Edward winced internally. He did not know his lack of knowledge of magical creatures made him stand out so much. With the Monster book trying to eat his head every time he touched it, it was impossible to acquaint himself with knowledge of chimeras. Unfortunately, the stroking of the spine trick would not work for the more aggressive monster books.

"I think there is something off about the boy," Snape continued. "He obviously does not live with magic. Just the other day in Potions, he added magnesium oxide into his potion to reduce the acidity of the potion and make it drinkable."

"And?" Dumbledore pushed his half-moon spectacles up the bridge of his nose.

"He incorporated science with magic when the book clearly says to wave the wand twice over the potion."

"He's a smart kid. I don't see anything wrong with that."

Snape suddenly looked furious.

"He's an outsider! I don't think he can even perform magic! Did you even hear about the thing that the boggart transformed into? And with Black lurking around Hogswarts, I don't think Edward Elric's enrolment is just a mere coincidence."


	10. Chapter 10

**I haven't forgotten about Black. How can I? He's yummeh.**

Their voices began to fade as Snape and Dumbledore traipsed away. Crabbe looked a little unnerved.

"Are you conspiring with Sirius Black?" Crabbe glanced at Edward timidly.

"No!" Edward scoffed.

Edward had seen the name of the criminal who had escaped Azkaban plastered on newspapers. But reading a newspaper where the pictures moved was not something Edward could get used to. He suspected his mission to protect Malfoy had something to do with Black.

Edward had even increased his vigilance on Malfoy when he heard that the Fat Lady's portrait had been slashed by Black.

"Then why haven't you been able to use that wand?" Malfoy challenged, pointing at the fake wand in Edward's robes. "I remember the time in DADA when you could not even summon a simple shield."

"I don't have to prove anything to you, Malfoy."

"I think you do." Malfoy grabbed the permission slip that Snape had signed from Edward's gloved hand. He proceeded to rip the form into shreds.

Reaching out to grab Malfoy before further damage could be inflicted, Edward tried to swipe the slip from Malfoy's grasp.

"Do it," Malfoy smirked, opening his hand and letting the scraps of paper drift down to the ground.

"You son of a-"

"Prove to me you can do magic, Elric."

Cursing under his breath, Edward knelt down on the ground and inconspicuously clapped his hands together as he drew out the fake wand.

"REPARO!" Edward intoned clearly and as he pointed the stick and the scattered remains, he rested a hand on them.

There was a flash of yellow light and when it faded away, Edward was pleased to see Malfoy wearing a frustrated and perplexed expression as he held out the perfect permission slip.

"Satisfied?" Edward hissed, raising his chin a little. Malfoy just glared at him and stalked away to the main gate.

Goyle gave him a goofy thumbs-up and ran clumsily after Malfoy. As Crabbe followed his friend, Edward heaved a sigh of pure relief. Maybe he could still pull off this magic thing without using a wand.

When Edward had caught up with them at the main gate, he felt as if all warmth had been stolen from him. Edward choked back a terrible feeling of despair and sadness. As the line to Hogsmeade proceeded, Edward could see hooded grey figures hovering at the entrance.

"Dementors," Edward whispered, a little ashamed to hear his voice croak like a frog. He felt like a frog. A frog in hot water who was stupid enough to let the water cook him to death.

"Don't tell me you're scared of them," Malfoy said nastily. Edward shook his head even though his head was whirling.

They were so close to the hooded figures now. Edward could smell the breath of the dementor as he drew close to them. It smelt like rotting meat. Their skeletal claw-like hands hovered limply in the air. Yet, they looked poised and ready to claw someone's eyes off.

The screaming began. The bright purple lights blinded Edward's vision and he could not breathe. His head pounded. His blood pulsed against his temples. Edward felt strangely inflated, like a balloon swelling and ready to burst.

He realised that the inflated feeling was fear. Edward was terrified. He did not like to admit it but he needed help. Edward tried to block off the noise and the lights. They were just illusions. Just illusions. Not real.

Happy thoughts. He needed happy thoughts. That was what the textbook said. He needed to be happy.

Holding on to the image of his mother and brother, alive and well, Edward tried to summon happiness. He pictured their face down to every minute pore on their faces. Happy. Edward was happy.

The screaming overpowered him and his mother and brother transformed before his eyes. It was grotesque. Their shapes became warped and distorted. Their limbs fell apart one by one. Blood. Their eyes locked onto Edward's. The alchemist was shocked to see their pupils had disappeared. There were signs of rotting at the corners of their eye sockets.

"You did this to me." They said in unison, their empty eyes boring into Edward.

"You did not just faint on me."

Edward felt himself being poked painfully. He blinked rapidly and saw himself slumped against Malfoy's and Crabbe's bodies. Dismay filled Edward's belly when he realised they had not moved. He still had to get past the dementors.

Edward did not care if that made him a lousy bodyguard, but he wanted to leave. Badly.

"Get off!" Malfoy snarled and pushed Edward off.

"You get off!" Edward retorted reflexively. Unable to get the hang of his numb legs, Edward staggered away from Malfoy and crashed into one of the hooded figures.

The suffocating despair returned. Edward's eyes blanked as the violet lights once again returned. He felt cold, clammy hands cup his cheeks. The fingers brushed against his face and Edward shivered. It was the feeling of bone scraping against flesh.

Edward gasped involuntarily as his head was forced upwards and as his lips parted, he felt every fibre of energy in his body being sucked away. His breathing stuttered. The screaming started.

He was in the hospital wing when he woke up. Edward noticed that there was no one else in the wing. Alone in the darkness, Edward hugged his knees to his chest.

It was his fault. He turned his mother and his brother into monsters. It was his fault. Edward knew that the dementor had been trying to steal his life force. He wished that it had finished the job. It was all his freaking fault.

"Unthinkable!" A voice outside the hospital wing was saying. Edward roughly brushed away the matted hair from his face. He recognised the voice to be the Pinako look-alike.

"How could the... the thing!" There was unbridled disgust in her voice. "How could it even attempt to Kiss an innocent child?"

"I suppose it was getting hungry. After being away from Azkaban for so long, it needed the energy." The oily voice was unmistakable.

"Still! To attack a harmless child."

"I don't think he's that harmless. I need to talk to talk to Elric when he wakes up, Poppy. I'll make sure he gets the chocolate."

"Bless you, Severus."

Edward dived back under the sheets and turned his back to the door. He slowed his breath and pretended to sleep. Closing his eyes was the most difficult part. Edward was afraid he would see the transmutation circle under his lids again.

"Elric, I know you are awake. Stop pretending."

Edward lay prone on the bed and smiled sheepishly at his house head. The smile felt forced and his cheeks cracked with the effort of holding the smile in place.

"I suspected you had troubles with the dementors." Snape said, slapping the bar of chocolate painfully in Edward's hands.

Edward's mind spun. Did Snape sign the slip so that he could confirm his reservations about the dementors?

"People who have this kind of reaction against the dementors have faced something horrible in their past. Something, perhaps, they want to hide?"

Snape turned away from Edward's bed. He turned back to survey the alchemist when he was almost to the door.

"Question is, what do_ you_ have to hide?"

**I promise no more angst next week! ;D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's an early update since I won't be updating this week**

Apparently, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had all gone to Hogsmeade without him. It was a little hurtful. Some friends they were.

Apparently, Potter had not gone to Hogsmeade either.

"I just went to see Professor Lupin. I didn't know you had the same... problem too," Potter said through a grimace.

Edward shuddered at the memory. It felt good to have a friendly face to talk to after what had happened. The chocolate was amazing but having a friend for company was better.

"He's giving me anti-dementor lessons if you can believe it. I was thinking if you wanted to come along as well."

Edward's initial instinct was to turn Potter down. He was not going to use the stick again. However, the alternative of facing dementors alone was much more daunting.

"I'll... I'll come along just to watch," Edward said and there was a sense of finality to his tone that Potter did not dare to argue.

"So why aren't you in Hogsmeade?" Potter asked casually. There was a little laughter in his voice.

Edward raised his eyebrow.

"Coming with me?"

"To Hogsmeade?" Edward exclaimed incredulously.

"Where else?" With a meaningful look, Potter left the hospital wing, looking behind once to check if Edward was coming. Edward shrugged and threw the covers off him. He was glad that when he walked, his legs did not wobble or threaten to collapse under his weight.

Standing next to Potter, Edward could not help noticing how short he really was. He groaned miserably.

Potter pulled out a blank, withered sheet of parchment and murmured,

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Thin ink lines began to spread from where Potter's wand had tapped onto the parchment, crisscrossed like a spider web to form a detailed picture of Hogwarts grounds. Edward no longer recoiled at the sight of magic. He was almost used to the strangeness already.

Edward noticed that some of the ink lines led straight into the heart of

"Hogsmeade!" Potter said triumphantly. "These are the secret passages. The dementors and Filch don't know about some of these routes."

Edward could have married him.

"What are you waiting for?" Edward demanded impatiently, already tracing one of the routes in his head and racing out of the hospital wing. He was thinking about the muffins. "Let's go!"

They dodged Peeves on their way out. Edward was grateful for that. Ghosts were creepy no matter how childish the ghost might behave.

"There!" Potter pointed at the statue of the one-eyed witch. As the boys approached the statue, they looked at each other expectantly.

"Uh... See what the map says," Edward suggested and Potter quickly consulted the map again. There were tiny ink figures, labelled Harry Potter and Edward Elric standing beside the statue. A speech bubble popped up above their heads. The word inside it said "Dissendium".

Potter tucked the map away. "Do you..."

"No," Edward said quickly. "You do the honours."

"Dissendium!" Potter whispered and tapped his stick on the witch. The hump on the witch opened wide and Edward slipped inside after Potter.

It was so dark Edward bumped right into Potter.

"Lumos!" Potter said, holding his wand up as a bright green light appeared at the tip.

Wordlessly, the two boys started walking along the passage that kept twisting and turning. Edward was grateful for his small stature that let his squeeze through tiny openings easily. Wait. He was not grateful.

"How long more?" Edward hissed as he watched Potter struggle to duck down and enter the tunnel that Edward had effortlessly gone through. He would punch Potter if he mentioned anything about his height.

"No idea," Potter said, sounding equally vexed. "I've never used the map before."

"Great," Edward muttered. He was a little thankful that it was Potter and not Mustang he was with now. If it were Mustang using his fire for guidance, they would have burnt out their oxygen supply by now.

They finally emerged in an old cellar, full of wooden crates and boxes. Edward dusted himself and stealthily, the boys crept up the stairs and emerged behind the counter of Honeydukes. They dodged out from behind the counter and straightened up, blending in perfectly with the rest of the Hogwarts students.

"Told you I'd bring you here," Harry said, grinning. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning. Edward knew his own face reflected the same amazement.

"Yeah!" Edward breathed. "My hero!"

Edward decided that Goyle was wrong. The muffins were not that good compared to what Honeydukes had in store for them. Thank goodness for keeping his wallet with him and thank goodness for samples.

If not for them, Edward would have bought himself a bag of jellybeans on the spot. He did not want to buy a whole bag just to find them flavoured with vomit. He had popped a plump red jelly bean into his mouth and instantly vomit filled his mouth. He had to make sure that the flavour of the bean caused the taste and that he was not actually vomiting.

Harry had gotten his hands on some Special Effects sweets that allowed him to breathe fire. It was kind of cool. Mustang should learn how to do that some day.

"Hey! Look!" Harry whispered, pointing at the corner of Honeydukes.

Edward followed the direction of his finger to see him pointing at a display of cockroach clusters. Were those even edible? But Harry was pointing at the people observing the clusters with awe.

"Let's sneak up on them!" Harry said. Edward smirked and followed him. He wanted to scare Miss Know-it-all.

The boys sneaked stealthily up the two friends.

"I think Harry would like this," Weasley said, holding up a jar of blood-flavoured lollipops.

"Um, no. Harry wouldn't want them. They're for vampires, I expect," Granger said.

"How about these?" Weasley suggested, holding up the cockroach cluster jar. Edward was horrified to see that the cockroaches were still moving. Were they still alive? Who would eat those anyway? Well, Black Hayate would. But what human would?

"Definitely not," Harry interjected, almost causing Weasley to drop the jar.

"Harry!" Granger squealed. "What are you doing here? How did you-?"

"Did you learn to apparate?" Weasley asked excitedly. "WOW!"

"Of course not!" Harry said and went on to explain about the map much to Granger's horror. Meanwhile, Edward had quietly transmuted an old broom into a wooden scythe and stole quietly up to the three friends.

When he was close enough, Edward raised the scythe above their heads so that the shadow of the weapon fell across the ground.

Weasley, Granger and Harry whirled around, stunned.

"Your end is nigh!" Edward intoned in a low voice, trying not to guffaw at the three pale faces turned towards him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Harry Potter Exhibition came to my country! If you ever have the chance to go there, buy Bernie Bott's every flavour beans. I've tried vomit flavoured and they do taste like vomit. Eugh.**

**A longer chapter for you guys today. ;D**

"Dude!" Weasley gasped. "You scared me! I thought it was the Grim! Besides, it's Christmas! How could you do this to us?"

"The Grim isn't real!" Granger said exasperatedly as if they had the conversation thousands of times already. "And anyway, the Grim takes the form of a dog, not a scythe wielding human!"

"Yea, but they can take on whatever form they want, right?" Weasley protested.

Feeling a little uncomfortable with the talk about human transmutation, Edward leaned the scythe against the wall and turned to the three Gryffindors.

"Don't mind me, but can we get out of this shop? It's kind of stuffy in here."

"Hold on a sec," Harry said and rushed to the counter to buy his arsenal of sweets.

Edward joined him to buy a curious-looking quill which he could lick in class. He also bought a cotton candy replica of a screwdriver- not wrench. No, never buy that crazy woman a wrench- in the Muggle sweets section for Winry and a stuffed toy cat that could walk, talk, poop and say 'Mama' for Al.

At the counter, Edward had a little problem with the currency and he had to ask the person behind the counter to count the money for him.

Outside Honeydukes, Edward stared at the sight, dumbstruck. Hogsmeade looked like a snow globe, with every house, every street lamp strategically placed so that it was perfect. Maybe snow globes were inspired from this place.

Brushing the snow out of his face, Edward wished he had brought along mittens and a thicker coat. He was shivering uncontrollably as his automail continued to suck heat away from his body.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks!" Weasley said, teeth chattering despite wearing more layers of clothing than Edward.

They slipped into the bar which was a few degrees warmer than outside. Edward watched his breath steam in front of his face.

Granger found an empty table and Edward found himself squashed beside Granger and Weasley. An attractive, curvy woman sauntered up to their table to take their orders. Edward had to resist the urge to flinch. Attractive, curvy women were all trouble in Amestris. Women like Lust, Olivia, Hawkeye... Winry. A pang of homesickness rushed through him and Edward fought it down.

The waitress returned with four foaming tankards of something called Butterbeer. Weasley had insisted that Edward try the drink and Edward hoped there was no milk inside.

The first sip was glorious. It banished away all the cold in his body and burned away pleasantly in his stomach. As they gossiped about the teachers in school, Edward was struck by how odd the group seemed. He felt out of place with the three friends. Not only had they been together since first year, they were all Gryffindors.

There was also an unspoken animosity between the Gryffindors and Slytherins. Edward could tell that his friends were trying not to badmouth Malfoy in their gossips. But there were instances where their topic strayed to Hagrid and their faces flushed with anger.

Before Edward could make a lame excuse to leave, Granger and Weasley suddenly pushed Harry's head under the table. Edward glanced up to see McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid and a stranger with a green bowler hat. Edward sank his face deeper into his tankard so that they would not recognise him. It would be difficult explaining to Snape how he ended up in Hogsmeade.

"Mobiliarbus!" Granger whispered and a Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the ground and landed with a soft thump in front of their table, hiding them from view.

"What's up with Potter?" Edward whispered to Weasley.

"He couldn't get his form signed," Weasley breathed back. "Tried to get Professor McGonagall to sign for him but she refused. That's why we were so mad when you said Snape signed it for you."

Edward winced. Snape had not signed it for him out of good will.

"A small gillywater?"

"Mine," said McGonagall's voice, startling Edward from his reverie.

"Four pints of mulled mead?"

"Ta, Rosmerta," said Hagrid.

"Cherry syrup with umbrella?"

"Mmm!" said Flitwick.

"So you'll be the red current rum, Minister."

Edward's ears perked up. The minister was here? He tried to crane his head to see what the magic version of the Furher looked like but Granger smacked him on the head.

"So what brings you, Minister?" Rosmerta asked.

"What else m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard about what happened at the school at Halloween? Black just showed up and threatened one of the portraits to get into the Gryffindor common room."

"Do you think Black's still here?" Rosmerta said. There was a slight tremor in her voice.

"I'm sure of it," the Minister replied. "Black's a dangerous criminal and you don't know half of it, Rosmerta. The worst he did isn't widely known?"

There was a pregnant pause. Hagrid's gruff voice was thick with anger.

"I can't believe it. Fer Black to betray James 'otter."

There was a low clunk as Harry dropped his tankard. Granger kicked under the table and Edward grimaced in sympathy for Harry.

"You thought they were brothers! Inseparable!" Flitwick chimed in.

"Of course they were," the Minister said. "They were best friends and Potter trusted Black beyond his other friends. Lily and James even made him best man and named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine the idea would torment him. Potter also used the Fidelius Charm to hide from You-know-who."

"How does that work?"

Edward tuned them out at this point. He felt a growing sense of worry for Malfoy. What if Black was in Hogsmeade now? What if he was after Malfoy and he was not there to safeguard the boy? Edward stood up to leave but Weasley yanked him back down again.

"Pettigrew was a hero." Edward could hear McGonagall concluding.

"So what do you think he's broken out to do?" Rosmerta said. "Good gracious, Minister. He isn't trying to rejoin You-know-who right?"

"I daresay that's his plan. But how he got into Hogwarts that night remains a mystery to me. I believe Black could have some contacts inside the school. I've checked the documents and noticed that this year there is a new student who joined in the first year. No background, no reason. Just appeared in Hogwarts out of nowhere. Awful coincidence, considering that this is the same year Black escaped from Azkaban. Black was also laughing in his cell, saying 'he's at Hogwarts'. I initially thought 'he' referred to Potter. I'm not too sure now."

Edward froze. Granger and Weasley's eyes were rooted on him now. There were clinks as tankards were set aside and shuffling as chairs were pulled back.

"Nonsense, Minister. Our new student isn't a threat. Sure, he may be a little queer, but I don't think Dumbledore would let him in if he intends to harm the students." McGonagall protested. The voices began to fade away. The last thing Edward heard before the door closed with a jingle was the Minister saying,

"I know, Minerva, but still, awful coincidence."

The door closed with a conclusive slam.

"Edward," Granger stared at him with large eyes.

"You were siding with Black all along?" Weasley hissed. His eyes blazed and Edward tried not to flinch. "We trusted you! Damn it!"

"Wait, I'm not- I don't even know who this Black person is!" Edward protested. "I don't even know who the You-know-who is!"

He thought his argument would redeem himself but Granger and Weasley were looking at him in disbelief. Potter crawled up from under the table and was staring at Edward like a different person.

"You don't know who You-know-who is?" Weasley was almost shouting. Half the bar went quiet. Some people even turned to look curiously at the group.

"Fudge's right! There is something strange about you."

"Ron!" Granger warned and Weasley calmed down a little though his face was still red.

Edward tried to think. He had often seen the name You-know-who in the newspapers but for goodness sake, how did he know who that was! Unless they were talking about the magical world bad guy, Wordymort or something, Edward had no clue.

"Edward, why are you here? Why did you only join in the third year?" Granger asked.

_Because I'm an alchemist who does not believe in magic and am on an undercover mission to protect someone._

"Because my mother who homeschooled me died last year," Edward lied, using the same cover up story that Snape had unintentionally provided him. It felt blasphemous using his mother's death as a convenient excuse for a lie.

Granger and Harry looked stricken. Weasley did not look convinced.

"You're just trying to get on our good books by using some sob story! Admit it! That's why you hang out around with us! So you can secretly pass information to Black!"

By now, everyone in the bar was looking at them.


	13. Chapter 13

**If I joined the zoo, there'd be a sign saying, FEED ME REVIEWS. THEY MAKE ME GROW TALLER. Ouch, sorry, Ed, but reviews won't change your height.**

The next day, Edward did his best to avoid all the Gryffindors in general. Seeing how fast rumours spread around here, he would not be surprised if he was expelled the next day. Strangely, no one said anything about being Sirius Black's conspirator.

The talk of the day was Potter's unexpected package. People were gushing about a Firebolt. Despite his misgivings about going near the Gryffindor table, Edward was curious to see what kind of weapon a Firebolt was. He was staring at the Gryffindor table so hard that Malfoy nudged him.

"Don't tell me you're all head over heels with Potter's broom!"

Broom? Edward then noticed that people were passing a broom around the table, touching its handle reverently.

_Hocus Pocus people_, Edward thought grimly. They were weird.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Amy shrieked, throwing a gift into Edward's face.

"OW! Is that how you give people a present?" Edward yelled, feeling guilty that he had not gotten anyone a present. He had mailed his Hogsmeade purchases to his family and friends in Amestris but he had completely forgotten about the people in Hogswarts.

"Just take it, short stuff."

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING SHORT! I'M NOT SHORT, YOU PEA BRAINED ALIEN CHIMPANZEE! YOU WANT SHORT? I'LL SHOW YOU SHORT!"

Edward grabbed a turkey leg from the table and flung it at Amy who ducked. The turkey leg fell neatly into Crabbe's mouth who was suddenly there to catch it. Edward gave Crabbe a sage nod to show his respect.

Two owls swooped onto the Slytherin table to present Malfoy with a large parcel. After ensuring that all eyes were on him, Malfoy unwrapped his present slowly and deliberately. Inside, was a gold box with the letters 'Wizards Chess' engraved on it.

Everyone oohed. Edward huh?ed.

"A game?" Malfoy asked with a smirk that made Edward think he was going to get thrashed. Edward felt a twinge of annoyance in his eyes. So, the Malfoy boy wanted to beat the genius at war? He gave his client's son a significant smile.

"Bring it on."

When most of the Slytherin table had cleared out after breakfast, Edward, Crabbe and Goyle were still stuffing the remaining turkey in their mouths.

There was a gentle cough behind him and Edward turned to see Potter and his friends. Crabbe and Goyle both tightened their grips on the turkey legs they were clutching. They're lips pursed with anger. Edward's eyes instantly shot to the book Granger was carrying. The title of the book made him stop in mid-chew.

Alchemy: The Lost Art.

Weasley was glaring at Edward with undisguised distrust. Edward swallowed and put on his poker face mask. He pointed at the book.

"What's up with that? That's not magic!" He studied the book carefully. It looked like a beginner's book and he had never seen it in his life. Alchemy was definitely not a lost art either. Edward suspected it was some book written by the hocus pocus freaks who did not understand anything about science. How could they even begin the grapple the concept of science when Edward still could not understand magic?

"A little light reading," Granger said tersely. She was looking at him intently as if she was judging his reaction. "I'm interested in the baffling concept of using a different form of magic, something that turns elements into gold."

Okay, definitely not something Edward should get freaked out about. Extracting gold was forbidden. No rea; alchemist would be so brainless as to write a book about that.

"I'm not here for small chat," Potter said. Edward glanced at the boy and saw an angry light in his eyes. The fire in his eyes was so fierce Edward could understand how this boy could defeat Wordymort as a baby.

"You can leave. This is the Slytherin table. Or are you here to show off your old broom? Pity, you Weasleys can't even afford a single splinter on that thing." A new voice said. Edward turned to see Malfoy marching towards them. Crabbe and Goyle instantly dropped the turkey legs and glared at the Gryffindors dutifully.

"We'll leave," Weasley retorted. His face contorted grotesquely in rage. "But in a minute."

"I didn't want to talk to you," Potter growled at Edward who tried not to recoil at his harsh tone. It seemed impossible that just a few hours ago, they were friends on a secret adventure to Hogsmeade.

"But I think it's only fair. Professor Lupin is meeting me Thursday night at eight for the lessons in the History of Magic classroom. You can come along if you want. I don't really care."

With a final glare at Malfoy, the Gryffindors left the table.

"Why are you meeting Lupin for?" Malfoy demanded.

"Some anti-dementor lessons," Edward said. "I'm not going to let one near me again."

"Aw... poor Elric is scared of dementors. Do you need mama to protect you from the glowy circles too?"

Edward ignored him. How he managed to make sure that Malfoy was safe and sound every moment of the day when his patience with him was thinning was a wonder. Malfoy turned and stalked away and Edward sighed as he was forced to abandon his turkey.

Gathering the large amount of packages that had come in by owl post from Central and Amestris, Edward hobbled back after Malfoy into the Slytherin common room.

Edward dumped his presents on the ground near the fireplace and saw that Malfoy was playing a game of Wizards Chess by himself. The pieces moved automatically at the sound of his voice. An invisible player was moving the chess pieces after Malfoy had made his move. Edward could not help noticing that no one was playing with him. He considered going to play a round with Malfoy but decided against it for now. No need to humiliate the Slytherin just yet and he wanted to open his presents first.

Amy had given him a Sherbet Lemon bag from Hogsmeade. Winry had mailed some automail oil and Al had given him a new edition book of the breakdown of alchemic materials. Pinako had given him a satchel of dried milk which Edward promptly tossed in the fireplace.

Armstrong sent a sculpture of himself with a note that said 'The skill of sculpting has been passed down from the Armstrong line for generations. You may lick me. It's made of liquorice.' which Edward threw into the fire without hesitation as well.

Mustang had mailed a long angry letter about how random girls kept sending him death threats at least twice a day. He had also combined a present with Hawkeye and had given Edward an expensive looking journal for him to write his notes in. There was an unhappy looking 'Merry Christmas. Regards, Mustang and Hawkeye' on the wrapping paper. There was a bit of blood on the words.

Edward glanced at Malfoy who was just moving his pieces randomly and letting his invisible opponent slash his units into smithereens.

"Yo!" Edward called, walking over to Mustang and tucking his gifts into his robes. "I'm here to take up on your challenge. You better be ready to get beaten into a pulp. I am the king of unpredictability when it comes to chess."

"Get over here and get your ass kicked, shorty," Malfoy said, sounding incredibly bored.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PINT-SIZED THING THAT IS SO SHORT YOU NEED A MICRSOSCOPE TO SEE HIM? I am so going to destroy you for that." Edward growled and pulled a chair over to the chess board. Some Slytherins began to look interested in the match.

"I doubt you can, pint-sized thing!" Malfoy said, twirling a broken piece in his hand.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT?!" Edward shrieked as the units in the chess board sprung to life.

Bring it on.


	14. Chapter 14

**Edward's a sore loser.**

Edward gasped and struggled to see. His vision was becoming blurry and he could not breathe. No. Not now. He had to see. Water dripped down from his head, drowning him. Edward tried to breathe and some of the salty water dripped into his mouth. He spat it out. Breathe. Breathe!

Shakily, he gripped the edge of the table and managed to choke out.

"Knight to D1."

Malfoy grinned triumphantly as he ordered his piece forward.

"Checkmate."

"Knight come back! Come back!"

No use. Edward watched in dismay as Malfoy's piece severed his queen's head.

Crabbe and Goyle had come to watch the game but neither of them knew how to play chess. They just hooted in delight when the heads rolled.

"Oh shut up!" Edward snarled as they laughed even louder when Edward's queen died. The Slytherins who had gathered to watch the game congratulated Malfoy and begged to play with him.

Edward snatched his Christmas gifts which had fallen out during the heat of the game and stormed away from the chess game. Stupid Malfoy. Stupid chess. He would have won if the board was not magical. In normal circumstances, all he had to do was switch the pieces on the board before Malfoy could even blink. But this was not normal circumstances and he had no need to touch the pieces.

Edward went back to his dormitory to empty his armful of presents. He put the journal Mustang and Hawkeye had given him on the desk. Maybe he could continue his research on the philosopher's stone while on the job.

He stared at the empty room for a while and instantly thought of Al. They were always together. Even after that incident. They had never been apart for so long. For the past few months, Edward had been diligently avoiding the thought of his brother lest he felt so homesick he could not cope.

It was Christmas. The first Christmas without his only family.

"Gah!" Edward hissed shoving the longing aside and occupied his mind by taking a shower in the communal bath.

The bath was thankfully empty so Edward could strip freely without worrying about anyone oogling at his automail. He sunk deep into the water and sighed in relief. One thing good about the hocus pocus place was that they had awesome baths. Edward adjusted the tap so that the water was close to steaming. There was some magic involved so that only Edward could feel the heat but since there was no one else bathing this late at night, the entire bath was soon filled with mist.

Edward could see his skin turn an angry red at the heat but he did not care, allowing himself to soak in the comforting warmth. He swam lazily in the water, distantly aware that his automail would not survive this abuse if he stayed too long in the water.

A soft shuffle made Edward stand upright in the water. He glanced around, trying to decipher where the noise came from through the mist. His eyes met a pair of bright ones, gleaming from the steam. The eyes were glaring at his automail, the saw-like teeth were glistening in a hostile snarl. Wait. Teeth?

Edward moved closer to the thing warily. The mist was thinning and Edward found himself too close for comfort, staring at a gigantic black dog.

Another chimera?

The dog's fur was bristling and he kept staring at Edward's automail as if it had never seen such a thing before. Well, it made sense because no one in the hocus pocus place had ever seen automail before Edward arrived.

For some reason, Edward felt the need to stay in the water. The dog had a human-like quality that made him feel embarrassed by his immodesty. His instincts were never wrong. The thing was a chimera. Those eyes were too human.

He clapped his hands and slapped them against the edge of the large bath.

The ground was made of pure stone and a little marble. Good. Marble was hard.

There was a shudder as slabs of rock shot out from the ground and tried to pierce the chimera. It was faster. It ducked around the corner and avoided the rocks completely. It did not come out from the corner for a very long time.

Abandoning his sense of modesty, Edward climbed out of the water and transmuted a marble spear from the ground. He tip toed cautiously towards the corner where the chimera was taking refuge. He felt very cavemanly as he poised the spear before him.

Edward crouched and prepared to spring up when he saw that there was no chimera. It had simply disappeared. There was no way it could have run away. It was a dead-end with a statue of an enormous snake curled on the ground.

Edward remembered that the one-eyed witch statue was a passageway to Hogsmeade. Maybe this snake would lead to somewhere. Edward clapped his hands against the statue and when the stone crumbled away, all that emerged from the ground was beetles. Edward quickly replaced the statue before the beetles could climb out.

Surveying the extent of the damage, Edward returned his spear to the ground and transmuted the stones back into place. It was as if nothing had happened.

Edward was too unnerved by the chimera to resume his bath so he quickly washed off the last of the grime and dirt on his body and prepared to leave when he felt the presence of another being return to the room.

Moving so that the chimera could not detect what he was doing, Edward silently clapped his hands underwater and made a ball of water suspend in midair. He arranged the water molecules, pushing them closer together with an alchemic reaction in his head. The ball of water slowly turned into hard ice. Swinging around, Edward flung it behind him.

"ELRIC!" Malfoy roared, barely dodging the ice ball.

He was in deep trouble.

"Malfoy?" Edward said incredulously. "I thought you were-"

Edward was still panting for breath. "Did you see a big dog with creepy eyes here just a minute ago?"

"What? You mean a big black dog?" Malfoy sneered, putting down his bath soaps.

Edward narrowed his eyes and nodded sharply.

"It's the Grim," Malfoy explained with a smirk. "Ha! I heard it was after Potter too. They say people who meet the Grim die within twelve hours."

"What?" Edward said. The steam from the bath was making his head spin.

"You heard me, now get out. I want to bathe in peace."

"But the dog-"

"It's after you. It won't hurt me, dumbass."

Reluctantly, Edward left the bath. _Twelve hours._ He saw Malfoy gawk at him and realised that no one had seen his leg automail before.

"You have two metal limbs?" Malfoy said. He sounded a little scared and looked at Edward like a monster. _Twelve hours. It was all because he came to this stupid magic school._

"Yea, problem?" Edward replied shortly and pulled on his bathrobe. At least Malfoy had not seen him perform alchemy. That would be very bad.

He left the bathroom but waited at the entrance in case the Grim came back. _Twelve hours._ But he could not risk Malfoy being another victim of the chimera. _Twelve hours. And he had not even said goodbye to Al yet._

"MALFOY!" Edward shrieked the next day. His eyes were bloodshot from not being able to sleep, spending most of the time researching on how to undo the curse and composing his final and heartfelt last messages to his brother. He even had given Mustang a one-liner special mention in his dying message. It was twelve freaking hours of not being able to sleep and eat. He had even used the freaking wand to ward against evil forces and lots and lots of complex alchemy to block out external interference.

Malfoy turned, so did many people in the Slytherin common room who had not gone home for Christmas. Edward was still in his sleeping robes and there were ink spots all over his face.

"WHY AM I NOT DEAD?" Edward demanded.

This time, everyone in the common room all stared at Edward.

Malfoy hesitated for a second, confused. Then he threw back his head and convulsed in silent laughter.

"I can't believe you actually believed me! Everyone knows the Grim is a kid's story to make them eat their vegetables!"

"WHAT?" Edward shouted, grabbing Malfoy by the front of his robes. He wanted to punch the boy so bad. He had even mailed the freaking letter to Al last night!

"Hey, Ed, chill dude." Amy called from one of the couches. She did not even look up from the book she was reading.

"CHILL?" Edward hissed. "You're asking me to WHAT?"

"Elric," the oily voice made Edward freeze in midsentence. Snape was glaring at him from the doorway.

"I must ask you to unhand Mr. Malfoy at once and follow me."

Edward numbly let Malfoy sink back into his seat and wanted to ram the boy's smug face into the ground. He walked apprehensively to Snape who was already climbing the stairs out of the dungeons.

"I warn you, Elric, do not test my patience on this matter. If you're trying to play any funny tricks on me, I have to make it clear that I will not stand idly by."

"What are you talking about, Professor?" Edward asked grouchily. Oh great, just when he thought things couldn't get any worse.

"I think you know better than me," Snape said tersely, glaring distrustfully at the student.

They made their way in tensed silence to the Great Hall and walked towards Dumbledore who was speaking in mellow tones.

"I assure you, that our school has maximum security. There is no way a student would just die under our watch. Ah! Just when we need him! There he is!"

"Al?" Edward said, stopping in his tracks. The giant suit of armour whirled to face him. If armour could show relief, Al was flashing it like a neon sign. Al clanked towards him and grabbed him in a body crushing hug.

"BROTHER!"

Edward wriggled in protest while Al turned his body into pulp. Even as he was shrieking at Al in protest, Edward missed how the joints in the metal poked his skin painfully, how his brother was way taller than him, how the chilling coldness of the metal ran through his body.

"You're alright!" Al exclaimed gleefully and if possible, hugged Edward even tighter. Edward swore he heard a bone snap.

"And here I thought I had to lug your scrawny body back to Central."

Edward glanced up and was surprised to see Mustang and Hawkeye there.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Fullmetal."


	15. Chapter 15

**Prom tonight so here's a slightly early update in case I case I can't make it to the computer after stuffing myself.**

Unfortunately, Snape could not permit the visitors from Central to staying longer. They were to be put on the next train and that gave Edward a mere few hours to spend with his brother.

Mustang, however, was complaining about how he was missing his paperwork, not that he did any. Hawkeye just chided Edward for being so gullible and fired a whole round of bullets at him such that they missed his right ear by an inch as a warning. Edward and Al made sure to avoid Hawkeye for the rest of the day.

"Let me show you around!" Edward said though he did not need much encouragement. Al was already exploring the place by himself.

They went outside to explore the castle grounds while Edward described his life in school and how he was not progressing well in his mission.

"Have you tried following him at night?" Al suggested.

"At night?"

"You know, maybe, he's sneaking around, doing something he shouldn't be doing. Maybe that's why you're not progressing."

"Yea, maybe. But whatever. It's not like he can single-handedly destroy the school or something. So what's going on in Central?"

"I've got a place near the Central library. The Colonel helped borrow some books on the philosopher's stone so I thought I could get started on research while you were gone."

Edward shifted uncomfortably and stopped walking. They were standing beside the lake. Al turned around and walked back to Edward. His head was tilted questioningly.

"Brother?" Al asked.

"Al, in the time I spent here, I discovered that these people could actually regrow flesh. I think there's a possibility that we can get our bodies back with magic."

"But you don't like it." Al said. Edward had not realised he had spat out the word 'magic' so derisively.

"It doesn't just go against the laws of transmutation! It sounds so easy- just like how we tried to create a human when we were kids. And I don't think magic would let you regain what you have lost to the gate and-"

"But it could be the answer!" Al protested. There was a childlike hope in his voice and Edward could not bear to crush that hope. He sighed.

"I don't know Al. Maybe I can find materials on the philosopher's stone here and see if it's safe to use magic. But whatever happens, you're getting your body back first."

"Let's get it back together, ok?" Al said and Edward gave him a placating grin.

"You know, even now, I'm still not very used to the idea of magic. And that Malfoy boy I'm supposed to guard? He's a big pain in the ass."

"Brother!" Al exclaimed reproachfully. Edward shrugged.

"It's not my fault for being stuck in this stupid mission. I seriously want to punch Mustang in the face. Speaking of which, let's spar!"

"But we just got here!" Al protested but Edward was not hearing any of it. It had been ages since he spared with Al. It used to be a daily routine for them and would still be if Edward had not gone on the mission.

Seeing the obstinate flare in Edward's eyes, Al sighed heavily and took on a fighting stance. Edward leapt into the air and swung a vicious kick at Al's side.

"There's this guy!" Edward gasped as Al blocked the blow swiftly. "He goes by the name Sirius Black!"

Edward crouched, then reared up again like a python. His arm shot forward. "I think he might... be the reason!"

"Reason?" Al asked, using his massive hands to stop the blow from connecting with his main armour frame.

"Reason for this dumb mission!" Edward said. With a grunt of exertion, he kicked himself into the air. "I think... he's connected to Malfoy somehow!"

"Related?"

"Yea! Why else would I..." Edward landed a kick on Al's armour and smiled triumphantly. However, Al was quicker and knocked Edward back with a fierce blow to his left leg. Metal clanked with metal.

"Would I be assigned to guard him this year?"

"I don't know, brother," Al said effortlessly. His voice was casual as if he were talking about the weather and not in the middle of a vicious fight.

Edward fisted some sand on the ground and flung it at Al who was accustomed to his brother's dirty tricks. Al sidestepped neatly and retaliated by kicking sand into Edward's eyes.

Edward made the mistake to speak then and sand filled his mouth. Frantically, he hacked out the particles. Al took advantage of his distraction and punched him in the gut.

It was a light punch but it made Edward choke out all the sand in his mouth. Edward squinted at Al to refocus his vision and charged forward at him.

"Could it be that Black is targeting Malfoy somehow?" Edward thought out loud, his face contorting a little at the taste of residue sand in his mouth. He feinted a punch with his automail arm and when Al ducked, Edward swiftly withdrew his arm and kicked at Al's leg.

"That explains everything!" Edward said. It was all making sense to him already. "By employing me... I'd have an advantage over the wizards since no... one knows what alchemists can... do!"

Al's leg buckled at Edward's kick but he used the momentum to drag his brother's face into the ground as he fell.

"Which means if Black... ever decides to-" Edward spat sand out of his mouth and charged at Al again, pulling back his arm for a punch. "-to come after Malfoy... he won't be expecting... me!"

Al slammed an open hand into Edward's fist and turned his wrist sharply, throwing his brother face down into the grass.

Edward pushed himself from the ground shakily, spluttering sand and allowed Al to help him up. The fights always ended like this. Dirty and fast. It ended much quicker this time. Maybe he was too out of practise.

"A... again!" Edward coughed and Al sighed.

"Brother! That's enough for today!"

"But there's no next time!" Edward whined, assuming the fighting stance again. Al knew better than to refuse his brother and crouched, body in position.

It took a longer time this time for Edward's face to be shoved into the mud and sand again. Edward coughed and raised a hand in defeat.

"I give!" Edward croaked and Al grabbed his hand and hauled his brother to his feet. The alchemist looked down at himself. His Slytherin robes were soiled and ripped beyond recognition.

Clapping his hands, Edward pulled out an equation from his mind and the material mended itself. With another flash of light, the grime and sand that clung to his body lifted away and fell back into the ground.

"You know, brother," Al said as Edward helped to remove the mud from his brother's armour. "You look different now."

Edward's face lit up. "You mean I grew taller?"

"Uh... no. It could be that you're not wearing your red coat anymore. You look more I don't know..."

"Aw... c'mon! I think I might have grown an inch or two." Edward protested but his brother only laughed.

As they walked back to the castle, a group of Ravenclaws passed them on their way to the lake. The students stared at Al in fear and shrank away.

Edward hoped Al did not notice. He shifted so that he was walking in front of his brother and glared at the students defiantly, daring them to say anything.

The Ravenclaws widened their eyes in apprehension and walked quickly away. A hot sensation burned in him as Edward glared after the Ravenclaws but he soon realised that the hot sensation was not due to anger.

A burst of flames erupted from the castle.

Edward and Al exchanged a look before they both sprinted to the castle.

The first person they saw was Hawkeye who was looming calmly over Mustang. The Great Hall smelt like burnt meat.

"What happened?" Al asked while Edward tried not to laugh at Mustang whose hair was burning at the tips. The Hall was completely cleared of students but the short Charms teacher was hurtling down the stairs, demanding where the fire came from.

"Things involving sixth grader girls, a turkey leg, some letter about a possessive girlfriend and owl poop." Hawkeye explained curtly while Mustang was mouthing death threats at Edward so that she would not notice.

"Good, Alphonse is here," Mustang said, trying to regain whatever vestiges of dignity by standing up and brushing his uniform. He smelled like owl poop so it ruined the impressive effect he was trying to give.

"Professor Snape told us that the carriage is already prepared. He seems very eager to get us out of the castle. Tsh, there are places with nicer hospitality."

"Already?" Edward cried in dismay. He had barely gotten the chance to talk to his brother.

"Fullmetal," Mustang said and Edward glanced at the colonel.

"Just so you know, I will not be wasting my time and coming here again unless you're dead. But please don't. You can't imagine the amount of paperwork involved."

"WHAT! ARE YOU CALLING ME SO SHORT THAT THE PAPERWORK'S HEIGHT IS COMPARABLE TO ME? I'M NOT SHORT YOU TOENAIL EATING FROG!"

Mustang smirked. "So long, Fullmetal. Try not to die."

Watching Al leave was the worst part of the day. Edward did not know when he could be able to see his brother again.

"Say hi to Winry for me," Edward said, trying to hide his disappointment in front of his brother. Al nodded vigorously.

"Stay out of trouble, brother," Al warned. Edward rolled his eyes in reply.

"I'm not in trouble!"

"But you create them," Mustang muttered while Al cheerily told his brother to remember to drink his milk.

Edward bristled at the mention of the foul tasting liquid that came out from the cow's You-know-what. Fun fact, a cow does not pee from the udders but the site of urination is close enough.

The carriage sagged visibly when Al mounted it. Al had to shift to the middle of the seats so that it would not be lopsided.

Mustang glared at Edward long and hard for good measure before entering, as if glaring at him was the perfect source of revenge. Hawkeye shoved the Colonel into the carriage. She pleasantly shot Edward a smile which told him that he was going to be in serious shit if he made them come all the way to Hogwarts again. Edward withered under that smile and edged away cautiously.

He watched as the carriage pulled away until it disappeared into thin air.

Like magic.


	16. Chapter 16

**Looney Lupin! See what I did there? Alliteration! Bleah, too much studying for my literature exams.**

There were several reasons why he would never turn up on Thursday night at eight. One, Potter was there. It would be uncomfortably awkward with him since Potter was convinced that Edward was the co-conspirator of Sirius Black. Two, he needed to use the hocus pocus stick. Three, Edward was on a mission. Four, he did not want to see another dementor again.

Edward tried not to hit himself repetitively against the wall as he abandoned Malfoy to a harmless game of impersonating Harry Potter and made his way to the History of Magic classroom.

He regretted it even more when a gaggle of giggling girls gawked at the sight of him and grimaced. One of the girls pushed a friend straight into Edward's path and shouted an encouragement. The girl's face was like a beetroot.

"Um... I'm Ruth from Hufflepuff," she said so softly that Edward had to strain his ears to hear. She handed him a box wrapped in pink heart-shaped paper. "I know it's l... late but Merry C... Christmas Edward!"

Edward took her present, dumbfounded. When the girl rejoined her girlfriends, the other girls began to pester her on Edward's reaction to her present. A round of 'I think he likes you!' and 'you bagged him, girl!' rose out from the group even though Edward was still standing right in front of them.

Eyes twitching, Edward continued searching for the History of Magic classroom.

A glance at his pocket watch told him he was fifteen minutes late when he arrived at the classroom. Knocking twice sharply, Edward opened the door and entered, aware of how his terse knocking reminded him of the military.

Potter glanced at Edward as he entered and looked away quickly, but not before Edward could see a burning look in his eyes.

"Ah! Edward! Harry said you might be coming but I didn't expect you to come after the clock turned eight." Lupin said, smiling genially.

A violent rattle from the cupboard under the teacher's desk made Edward raise an eyebrow in suspicion. Another boggart? Seeing where Edward was looking, Lupin explained,

"I've been combing the castle, and very luckily, I found this one hiding in Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll get to a real dementor."

Edward nodded apprehensively. He found a table and sat on it, far away from Potter as he could while Lupin checked the latch holding the cupboard in place.

"So..." Lupin had taken out his wand and indicated that the boys do the same. Potter did so without hesitation but Edward's hand hovered over the real wand. The stick felt uncomfortably hot in his pocket. Edward pulled out the wand reluctantly but placed it on the table so that he would not have to touch it.

"The spell I'm going to teach you is highly advanced magic," Lupin was saying. "It's called the Patronus Charm."

The professor paused as if waiting to see if either boy recognised the term. Neither did. Potter was sitting at the edge of his table, fingers curling eagerly around his stick.

"How does it work?" Potter asked, licking his lips nervously.

"Well, when it works correctly, it conjures a Patronus, which is a kind of anti-dementor weapon. It's like a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor."

Edward had a sudden vision of himself crouching behind Armstrong in full sparkle glory. The professor continued, "The patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementor feeds upon- hope, happiness, desire to survive- but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can. This is why the dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you that the charm might be too advanced. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."

"What does a Patronus look like?" Potter said curiously.

"Each one is unique to the user who conjures it."

"How do you conjure it?"

"With an incantation, which will only work if you're concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."

Potter's face screwed up as if he were concentrating on something very happy. Edward tried not to snort in laughter. This was ridiculous.

"Right," Potter said, his voice sounded misty. Edward wondered what his happy memory was. If it had anything to do with punching Malfoy on the face, that would make it to one of the top of Edward's happy memories.

"The incantation is this-" Lupin cleared his throat. "Expecto Patronum!"

Potter repeated the incantation under his breath and something silver whooshed out of his wand. It looked nothing like Armstrong or his sparkles. More like what happened when Mustang shot a fireball into the snow, giving out a dirty grey smoke.

Lupin was looking at Edward expectedly who shook his head rapidly.

"Sorry, I'm sitting out on this." Edward explained and Lupin lifted an eyebrow in surprise. Potter resolutely refused to look at him.

"Did you see that?" Potter exclaimed, drawing Lupin's attention back to him. Lupin smiled. There was something in the way he smiled that made him look like he was smiling at someone else, as if Potter were a different person.

"Very good!" Lupin exclaimed and walked to the cupboard. "Ready to try on a dementor?"

Potter nodded earnestly as Lupin pulled open the cupboard. A dementor rose slightly from the compartment and Edward forced down a shiver. The dementor's face turned towards Potter and one glistening, scabbed hand gripped its cloak.

The lights in the room flickered and the air grew colder. Edward grasped the edge of the table. Dark purple lights began to colour the room. No, not now!

"Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum!" Potter shouted desperately but his voice grew weaker and weaker. The air became as cold as winter.

Suddenly, the purple lights were gone as Lupin shouted,

"Ridikulous!"

The dementor was back in the cupboard. Edward shakily jumped off from his perch on the table and hurried to Potter's side. The boy was unconscious, sprawled against the floor. His glasses were askew on his ashen face. Edward felt for his pulse and was stunned that his skin was as cold as his.

"Professor..." Edward said as Lupin pushed him gently aside. Lupin muttered a spell and Potter jerked back to life.

"Sorry," Potter muttered, sitting up. Cold sweat was trickling down behind his glasses. Edward breathed a sigh of relief and Potter looked at him in astonishment.

"Dude, are you alright?" Edward asked and Potter, looking even more surprised, nodded. The professor handed him a chocolate frog which Harry bit down. He looked considerably calmer after that.

"It's getting worse," Potter admitted. "I could hear her louder this time. And him- Voldemort."

Edward had no clue what Potter was talking about but Lupin apparently did. Lupin paled and took a shaky breath.

"Harry, if you don't want to continue, you don't have to."

"I do!" Potter protested, shoving the chocolate into his mouth and standing up quickly to prove that he was alright.

"Alright but try to find a happier memory. That one doesn't seem to be happy enough."

Potter nodded resolutely as Lupin pulled open the cupboard. Edward wished he had gotten as far as he could from Potter this time. The dementor was so close to both of them that Edward felt the air colder than before.

"Expecto Patronum!" Potter shouted.

The purple lights bathed the classroom and they were so bright Edward shielded his eyes. He bit down on his lip until he tasted blood. It was a vision. It's not real. Just a vision.

"Expecto Patronum!" Potter screamed again but his voice cracked and Edward knew he was drifting off into unconsciousness again. Fear crashed over Edward. He was alone. Potter's spell was not there to save him anymore. Edward suppressed a scream as his mother's corpse suddenly appeared on the transmutation circle. She lifted her head and stared at Edward with soulless eyes.

"Ridikulous!" Lupin shouted. The air warmed considerably again and the thing disappeared. Edward was tethering on the edge of unconsciousness but he forced himself to stay awake. His throat felt blocked and he could hardly breathe.

"Here, eat it," Lupin commanded, pushing chocolate into Edward's hands. He had unwrapped the chocolate for him which made Edward feel grateful. He could not imagine trying to open the packaging when his fingers were shaking so violently.

"I heard my dad," Potter said breathlessly when Edward regained control over his senses. His throat still felt blocked and his head pounded horribly.

"You heard James?" Lupin said in a strange voice. Potter said something inaudible in reply and Lupin lowered his head a little.

"I did, as a matter of fact. We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Harry. Perhaps we should leave it here for tonight."

"No!" Potter said, standing up. Edward was surprised the boy could still stand. "I've got it! I can do this!"

Lupin gazed at the younger boy and wordlessly returned to the front of the desk. Before he opened the cupboard, he glanced at Edward and the chocolate in his hand. Edward hastily bit it down.

The dementor drifted slowly out of the cupboard but Potter's eyes flashed with resolution.

"Expecto Patronum!" Potter bellowed. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The purple lights appeared, but this time, they were dim and muted. The transmutation circle looked smudged. It looked like Edward was seeing everything through a pair of sunglasses with the wrong prescription.

A silver shadow stood between the dementor and the boys. Edward could see that Potter's legs were shaking. He would not hold out for any much longer. Edward noticed that in one hand, he held the chocolate, in the other, he was holding the abomination- the hocus pocus stick.

But Potter, no, Harry was not going to last forever.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Edward roared, focusing the memory of the sight of his brother in the school yesterday. Edward had expected the thing coming out of his stick to be a faint shadow like Harry's. But the silver thing spinning out of his wand was clear and distinct.

The python's body reared up so it was taller than the dementor. It struck the dementor with blinding speed. The dementor shrank back frantically and almost hurriedly until disappeared into the desk.

Edward stared in wonderment as the python's coils bunched up magnificently and disappeared. The alchemist remembered why the animal looked so familiar. It was the same python from the Flamel cross on his red jacket.


	17. Chapter 17

**YAY! Thanks for all those lovely reviews! They make me happy! ;D**

"Edward," Lupin's voice was hoarse with wonder. "That was incredible. On your first try as well."

Edward stared at the stick in horror. He had done magic, against his own beliefs. He had broken all the rules of equivalent exchange. The wand clattered onto the ground and Edward felt unclean and desperately needing a shower.

"Wow," Harry stared at Edward in awe. Edward felt like crushing the stick under his heel. He was never going to use it again.

"That was really excellent, Edward!" Lupin gushed and Edward wished they would all shut up. It was not excellent. It was not incredible. It was wrong.

As Lupin handed them both Honeyduke's best chocolates, Harry blurted out suddenly,

"Professor Lupin? If you knew my dad, you must've known Sirius Black as well."

Edward glanced up too quickly that he got a whiplash. He groaned and clapped a hand over his neck. Lupin knew about Black? Edward could feel his heart racing with excitement.

"What gives you the idea?" Lupin said sharply.

"Nothing," Harry said. "I mean they were friends at Hogwarts too."

Lupin's face relaxed slightly.

"Yes, I knew him," Lupin said shortly. "Or I think I did. You guys better be off, it's getting late."

Edward grimaced. He had hoped that Lupin was more willing to give details about his old friend. Before he left the classroom, he heard his name and turned around.

Harry rushed up to him and held out a stick.

"Ed! You left this!" Harry panted. Edward's gold eyes widened at the sight of the stick and revulsion washed over him.

"I..." Edward thought about denying ownership of the stick but he reluctantly opened his gloved hand and Harry gave him the stick. "Thank you."

"You were awesome back there!" Harry exclaimed as Edward gingerly placed the stick into robes. All trace of dislike had vanished between them and Edward was a little perturbed by this sudden change of development.

"I didn't know you could actually use a wand!" Harry said and smiled sheepishly. "I thought you couldn't do magic and was some kind of outsider spying."

Harry looked momentarily horrified at himself before he amended quickly. "I mean, you come from Amestris right? Hermione said she read somewhere that it was a country that used to be a place where alchemy was practised."

Edward stopped walking and stared at Harry who was faltering in his sentences.

"A... and Hermione said that alchemists w... were on Voldemort's side before so we thought you had something to do with him."

"What kind of crap is that?" Edward said after a while. It was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. At first, he thought that his secret was exposed but Miss Know-it-all had taken the wrong lead and deviated further away from the truth.

At least he knew that the magic people believed in alchemists and he had to be very sure not to get caught or they would think that he was an evil Mortymort follower.

"Sorry," Harry muttered. "I guess I was being a jerk all this time to you."

"It's cool," Edward said. They rounded a corner and Harry veered away to climb up the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower.

"Ron too," Harry added before leaving. He looked away, not meeting Edward's eyes. "I know he may have gone overboard with the accusations. But I'm sure he doesn't-"

"It's okay," Edward said firmly and Harry gave him a grateful smile.

"Hey Ed!" Harry called as Edward narrowly avoided a rotten tomato thrown courtesy of Peeves. Edward turned around and saw Harry smile slightly. "See you!"

"Yea," Edward called back and headed to the dungeons. He had new lead that he intended to follow. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. But first, he had to make sure his charge was safe.

Zabini told Edward that Malfoy was upstairs in the dormitories so that ended his search pretty fast. Edward returned to his own room and pulled out the old newspaper articles and books he had smuggled out of the library.

He tried to avoid touching the pictures of the paper which were moving around, as if alive. Edward was afraid that if he touched them, they might grab his finger and suck him into the newspaper.

Edward pulled out a sheaf of blank parchment and the candy quill he had bought from Hogsmeade. He sucked the candy as he studied the articles.

His pocket watch read eleven thirty and Edward had not found anything useful. His candy quill was dissolving also, making his fingers so sticky he had to wash his hands before writing anything. It was at eleven fifty that he found something promising. Edward had discarded the newspapers to one corner when he could find nothing remotely useful. The books were more useful.

One of them was a diary of some member of the Foldermort cult. It had been confiscated from her when she was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban, a wizard prison guarded by dementors. Edward could not imagine how anyone could survive a lifetime in a place like that. Surprisingly, the library contained a lot of diaries. It was as if personal privacy did not exist in the hocus pocus world.

In the first page of the book, the name Sirius Black popped up and Edward quickly scanned it closely. It was a crudely drawn family tree and proudly emblazoned on top of the tree was the word 'purebloods'.

From the tree, Edward traced a gloved finger over the names. The owner of the diary was Bellatrix Lestrange whose paternal first cousin was Sirius Black. Bingo. Her sister was Narcissa Black which was crossed out and changed to Narcissa Malfoy. Edward held his breath and a smile spread widely on his face.

Next to her name, she had linked her to Lucius Malfoy and underneath Malfoy's name was the word 'pureblood'. Draco Malfoy's name was missing which meant he had not been born when the diary was written.

Edward punched the air victoriously. This meant that Sirius Black was Draco Malfoy's first cousin once removed. There was a distant relation. But it was definitely there. Maybe Malfoy was in danger because of a family feud? Or maybe Lucius Malfoy wanted his son to be like Sirius Black. After all, both Lucius and Sirius were part of Doldywart's cult. Then if that was the case, why would Lucius want Edward guarding his son?

Edward grabbed his bangs and tried to rip them off his head. This was making him come up with more questions than before.

Slamming the diary shut, Edward picked up another book on Death Eaters and The Great War and began flipping through the pages, studying them intently.

When he had finished, he was no better than when he had started. All he knew was that there was a blood relation and that Black had somehow betrayed the Potters to join up with Goldiwart. Lucius was also part of the Goldilort fan club. Apparently, Sirius Black's name had been removed from the family tapestry because of something he did. It made a little sense if Edward was following the family feud theory. Black was probably unhappy about this arrangement and decided to exact his revenge on his cousin's only son. Being a Death Eater, like Lucius, would mean that at some point of time, Black was close to the Malfoy family.

There were a lot of assumptions to be made and it was not enough to prove anything. Whatever the reason, Edward had to keep a sharp eye on Black and Malfoy.

Yawning, Edward closed the books and stacked the newspapers to one corner so he could return them back to the library the next day. He blew off the fire from his candle and got up to close the curtains. His hand stilled on the fabric when his eyes met a pair of glittering ones.

A huge bulky shape emerged from the bushes, still staring at Edward. It was the Grim. No, it was the big dog-human chimera. It was the same thing Nina had become but more intelligent and deadly.

Edward threw open the window wide and prepared to vault over the edge to confront the thing. Before he could jump out, the chimera disappeared.

The alchemist closed the window, and sealed it in by clapping his hands over the grill for good measure. It was a precaution, just in case the chimera came back again.

Angry at himself for being too slow, Edward sat on the edge of his bed and tried not to think about Nina and Alexander.


	18. Chapter 18

**Here's an early update for you guys since I'll be busy on Christmas. On that note, Merry Christmas and God be with you!**

Malfoy was up to something. In the common room, Edward caught him discussing in low tones with Crabbe and Goyle and he clamped up as soon as Edward was within earshot. Edward gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. There was something going on.

Edward had stopped going for Lupin's anti-dementor lessons completely to spend more time keeping an eye on Malfoy. Once, he caught Malfoy conjuring a dark, weathered cloak from thin air and inspected it with a significant gleam in his eyes.

Edward was about to say something but Malfoy produced a slime ball in the air and launched it at Edward's face. Fortunately, he misjudged Edward's height and the slime ball sailed way past his head. Wait.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE CAN'T GET HIT BY A FLYING MISSILE?!"

Wait.

Malfoy smirked and left Edward staring after him in fury.

When Edward found Crabbe and Goyle, they were stuffing their faces with breakfast.

"Hey guys," Edward said conversationally. Goyle gave a slightly inaudible grunt of acknowledgement as he fisted quiches into his mouth.

"What are you guys doing with Malfoy?"

"Draco shaid shnot to shell anyone- especially you," Crabbe answered, bread crumbs flying out from his mouth as he spoke. Edward narrowly avoided the trajectory of the bread crumbs.

"Why not?" Edward asked innocently.

"Cause he shaid ish shtop shecret!" Crabbe replied, taking a long swig of orange juice. His mouth finally clear, Edward could understand him better.

"He's planning to make wimpy Potter cry!" Crabbe nodded sagely and Edward groaned. What was that kid up to now?

"What game?" Edward said, picking a piece of bread from Goyle's plate and crunching it down. Goyle shot him an indignant look.

"Quidditch, duh!" Goyle hissed, snatching back the half-eaten bread from Edward's hand. "After breakfast! It's Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!"

Edward clapped his hands inconspicuously and tapped Goyle gently on his shoulder. The threads around his wrist tightened, making the sleeve a few sizes smaller. Goyle yelped in pain, letting go of the bread. Edward snatched it before it fell to the ground.

He straightened to see Malfoy glaring at him. However, Malfoy said nothing as he motioned Crabbe and Goyle to follow him.

They grabbed a bun each before following after him. Edward returned the glare and followed them as well.

The Gryffindors were cheering about something- the return of Harry's broom. Why anyone was so happy over a broom was a complete mystery to Edward. However, Malfoy's face paled at the sight of the broom.

The Slytherins neared the Gryffindor table.

"Now, now, Penny! No sabotage!" A taller version of Ron Weasley said heartily as a girl inspected Harry's broom.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" Malfoy drawled, coming closer to the Slytherin table. Harry turned around and gave Edward an appraising look when he saw him with them. Edward merely shrugged. If these hocus pocus people were so hyped up over a broom, he should open a store somewhere selling brooms. He would earn a fortune.

Harry turned his gaze from Edward to Malfoy. His chin titled up a little.

"Yeah, reckon so."

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Shame it doesn't come with a parachute- in case you get too near a dementor."

On cue, Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.

"Shame you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," Harry retorted. "Then it could catch the snitch for you."

The Gryffindor team laughed too loudly. Edward's eyes narrowed. Harry was his friend but Malfoy was also his charge. Edward took a step forward but Malfoy restrained him with an arm.

"I don't need your help, Elric!" Malfoy sneered and stalked away back to the common rooms.

"I desperately need something to punch," Edward muttered to himself and hurried after Malfoy.

When he caught up, Malfoy whirled on him. His eyes were blazing with fury.

"What is with you, Elric! Stop following me already! You even follow me to the bathroom nowadays! What are you? My bodyguard?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY HE CAN SLIP THROUGH THE OPENINGS BETWEEN CUBICLES!" Edward roared. Several people stared.

Malfoy hissed furiously and spat,

"Dont. Follow. Me."

Which of course, Edward did.

Edward slipped behind one of the pillars that led to the common room and waited. He knew Malfoy would have to come up by this way and he was going to put an end to whatever trouble the boy was getting himself into and complete this stupid mission.

He was growing increasingly impatient as he hovered behind the pillar. Edward was about to kick something and leave when the doors to the common room opened and four dementors appeared.

Edward sucked in a breath of horror and searched for the real wand when he remembered he had chucked them into his dressing table. He braced himself for the purple lights but nothing happened.

Slowly, Edward crept out of his hiding place and heard the dementors talking.

"Shut up, Goyle! Dementors aren't supposed to speak!"

"B... but you're speaking t-"

"SHUT UP!" Malfoy snarled and the two dementors beside him fell silent. The fourth dementor was taller than the others but he was probably some Slytherin that Edward did not know.

Edward rubbed his temples with his fingers. Did he mention that this mission sucked?

The dementors filed out of the dungeons and with a quick glance at the empty hallway, moved quickly down towards the Quidditch field. Edward followed as stealthily as he could, taking advantage of his shortness to hide between walls and statues when the Slytherins turned around. Wait.

Edward clapped his hands over his mouth before he could scream in outrage. He turned back to find them and had to hurry before he lost them.

The Slytherins were hovering at the edge of the forest when Edward finally caught up with them. It was honestly a hard thing to do, considering that he had two metal limbs and had to be silent while running to keep pace with them.

Edward scaled up a tree near the four hooded figures until the leaves shielded him from sight but he could still keep an eye on Malfoy. He settled down on a sturdy branch and watched his charge intently.

"They're off!" A thundering voice startled Edward, almost throwing him off balance. "And the big excitement this match is the Firebolt Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's championship-"

"Jordan! Would you mind telling us what is going on with the match?" McGonagall's voice barked.

"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession!"

Edward tuned out the Quidditch jargon and glanced below. Malfoy was saying something to Crabbe or Goyle and was gesturing wildly.

The three figures beside Malfoy nodded and they stepped out of the edge of the forest and ghosted towards the Quidditch pitch. Well, Malfoy and the other dementor ghosted. The other two, most probably Crabbe and Goyle, looked more like they were stomping on ants.

"OH!" A girl's voice screamed and Edward looked up to see a pretty asian girl on a broomstick hovering about thirty metres in the air. Edward added the image to his I-did-not-expect-that list.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry's voice thundered and Edward saw a silver stag gallop towards Malfoy.

His instincts kicked in. Edward leapt from his perch on the tree. His hands clapped and a wall of earth erected, shielding Malfoy and his friends. The stag disintegrated into it in a flash of blue light.

Somewhere, the crowd cheered.

The hoods of the dementors fell from their heads. Malfoy sat on the ground, expression bewildered. Crabbe and Goyle were just staring at the wall of earth, open-mouthed. The other dementor, who Edward recognised as the Slytherin Quidditch captain, had the unfortunate chance of having Crabbe land on him. Edward winced for the poor guy.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Edward sprinted away from the crime scene and took a longer route to the Quidditch pitch. He found the Slytherins easily and sat next to Amy, panting slightly.

"Where have you been?" Amy growled. Edward saw that most of the Slytherins were sporting disgruntled looks.

"Bathroom. What did I miss?"

"Everything!" Amy said.

Edward saw McGonagall wave a wand at the wall of earth which crumbled easily.

The Slytherins around them gasped.

"Hey! That's Flint and Malfoy and Crabbe and Goyle!" Millicent Bulstrode shouted behind Edward.

"An unworthy trick!" McGonagall was screeching, brandishing her wand. "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor seeker! Detention for you all and fifty points from Slytherin!"

Edward was very glad he had left the crime scene when he did. He put his head into his hands. All this time, he thought Malfoy was going to do something dangerous. Maybe he overestimated his client.

"Ugh! I'm going to kill them!" Parkinson snarled. Edward looked at her over his shoulder but she was not talking about Malfoy and the others. She was looking at the Gryffindors who were cheering loudly and giving the Slytherins thumbs ups and mocking looks.

"Let's go before we all do," Amy suggested, glaring at them too. One by one, the Slytherins left the Quidditch stands before anyone could hex the Gryffindors.


	19. Chapter 19

**Happy new year guys!**

No one was impressed with Malfoy and Flint about the match but no one blamed Crabbe and Goyle since they were assumed to be too dull to think for themselves. Edward thought otherwise. For two loyal, besotted followers of Malfoy, they were surprisingly bright.

"All you have to do is to ignore the pain and push yourself out of the entrance."

"Push?" Edward echoed, tilting his head to one side.

"Yea! Once you get past the initial pain, the reward is amazing!"

"Mmmm..." Crabbe said dreamily and nodding. "Amazing!"

"The passageway is a bit tight at the entrance but if you don't touch them-"

"WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Malfoy roared, interrupting them.

"Ed's trying to figure a way how to get past the dementors to go to Hogsmeade tonight." Crabbe explained.

Malfoy stared at him incredulously and shook his head before stalking off. Edward scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"What about I push them away instead?" Edward muttered and his two consultants' eyes lit up in a moment of epiphany.

"Whoa, Ed! You're really smart!" Crabbe cooed.

"Professor Snape would be so proud!" Goyle supplemented. Edward grinned maniacally.

Malfoy glanced at Edward in disgust as he stood behind him in the line.

"Don't faint on me again, Elric!" Malfoy said as the line moved forward. The air grew subtly colder as they drew closer to the dementors.

Edward could see Snape near the entrance but at a safe distance away from the dementors. The Slytherin Head was studying him with snake-like eyes.

The procession moved forward and the lights in the room dimmed until they were purple. Edward grabbed the stick in his pocket, his hands clammy.

Focussing his entire mind on the memory of his brother, Edward tightened his grip on the wand. Edward remembered the rain, how he knew his body was cold from declining the umbrella Winry was holding. But he did not register the cold. He was thinking about Al. About how sorry he was for ruining his life. Edward remembered the moment he saw Al with Scar, the moment when said he never hated him, the unbridled joy he felt when all his sins were absolved by his brother. The moment when Al said he never blamed him.

"Expecto patronum," Edward whispered. A silvery wisp poured out from the pocket of his Slytherin pocket. It surrounded him, cloaking Edward in a warm mist. The mist settled and the python was draped across his shoulders.

The dirty feeling of having used magic wormed through his hand and Edward gritted his teeth. Crabbe and Goyle applauded while Malfoy's eyes widened. The dementors parted away and let Edward through without attempting to stop him.

As Edward passed Snape, he flashed the Head of his house a wide grin and Snape's eyes hardened.

"Where to?" Edward demanded as they boarded the carriage to Hogsmeade. He trusted Crabbe's and Goyle's sense of taste better than Harry and his friends. After all, his Syltherin friends had probably tried and double tried everything from Hogsmeade.

"Three broomsticks!" Crabbe and Goyle said in unison.

"I'm going to the Shrieking Shack," Malfoy muttered. Edward's eyes became tiny slits. The way he said it in such a matter-of-fact tone made it seem like he expected everyone to drop everything and follow him.

"Well, I'm going to warm myself with good mead first!" Edward retorted as Crabbe and Goyle looked a little uneasy.

Malfoy rolled his eyes at the alchemist.

"Yea, go ahead. I've had enough of you stalking me anyway."

"Hey Crabbe! Goyle!" Edward shouted even though they were right beside him. "Wanna have some butterbeer when we get down?"

Crabbe and Goyle exchanged frantic looks. Slowly, they nodded. Point- Elric. Elric- 1. Malfoy- 0.

"I'll go with you Draco-poo!" Parkinson cooed. She latched herself onto Malfoy's arm and looked smug. "If I'm scared, I can hold your hand!"

"Get off me Pansy!" Malfoy snarled. Then, he turned to glance outside the carriage window. "That's disgusting! You know what? I really need a drink right now."

Edward did not blame Malfoy for blanching at the thought of Parkinson slobbering over him. Still, Elric- 2. Malfoy- 0.

The butterbeer at Three Broomsticks was fantastic as ever but it was difficult tuning out his housemates annoying voices.

"And Father said he can get that big oaf expelled by next month too." Malfoy. Talking about Hagrid again. When was he going to shut up about that guy?

"Hahaha! Good one, Draco! Imagine what Potter would look like when he sees that hulk fired!" Zabini. Being an idiot.

"Ooh, Drakey, it's so cold outside. Do you want me to warm up your lips?" Parkinson. Ruining Edward's appetite.

"Maskajolf!" Crabbe. Trying to talk with his mouth full.

"Hoyjutso!" Goyle. Replying with his mouth full.

A shadow crossed the window and the Slytherins looks up instantly. Malfoy's lips curled into a feral grin.

"Crabbe, Goyle, follow me."

Edward stood up automatically but Malfoy did not stop him this time. Crabbe and Goyle finished chomping down their food and hurried after their master like puppies.

They left the rest of their housemates looking questioningly at each other. Malfoy was still talking about Hagrid but he had raised his voice so that he was practically announcing it to the world.

The Slytherins were moving towards the Shrieking Shack. Edward noticed that the shack was on top of a slope and that they had to slow down since Crabbe was already breathless from walking a few metres up the snowy surface.

Malfoy's voice swelled in volume.

"I should be getting and owl from Father any time soon. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about my arm... about how I couldn't use it for three months."

Edward winced at the memory. Crabbe and Goyle snickered.

"I really wish I could hear that great hairy moron trying to defend himself. There's-"

Malfoy pretended to look surprise and Edward followed his gaze to see Ron and Hermione at the top of the slope. Edward blushed, wanting to leave. He felt like they were intruding on the two Gryffindors.

"What are you doing here, Weasley?" Malfoy indicated at the weather-beaten Shrieking Shack. "Suppose you'd love to live here, wouldn't you Weasley? Dreaming about having your own bedroom? I heard your whole family slept in one room- is that true?"

Edward tried to look indifferent. He had his role as a bodyguard, a Slytherin and one of Malfoy's cronies. He could not just swing a punch at his charge. Or could he?

Ron looked like he was about to jump at Malfoy and tackle him to the ground. His face was bright red with ire. Hermione clenched her fists surreptitiously.

To Edward's surprise, Ron did not box Malfoy to the ground and rip his limbs apart. Malfoy took advantage of this and continued in the same taunting voice.

"We were just discussing your friend Hagrid. Just trying to imagine what he's going to say when they kill the hippogriff. D'you think he'll cry when they cut-"

Edward grabbed Malfoy's hair and pushed his head into the snow.

Malfoy got up spluttering.

"What the heck Elric!" Malfoy hissed but stopped talking when a white missile soared past his head and landed on the ground with a splat.

A snowball.

Malfoy spun around and yelled, "Who did that?"

Edward glanced around but realised that they were completely alone. His throat tightened and his body tensed, ready to fly at unseen enemies.

"Very haunted up here, isn't it?" Ron said casually, sticking his hands into his pockets and sniggering at the Slytherins below him.

"Ghosts aren't real!" Edward said. Then mentally slapped himself. Of course they were real. There were at least five of them in Hogwarts. But this ghost seemed more hostile than the ones in the school.

Crabbe and Goyle looked intimidated. They flexed their muscles, which Edward had to admit was impressive, despite never seeing them work out before.

Malfoy was looking from left to right frantically and if he did not stop soon, he was going to get a whiplash. Edward felt strangely clear. His instincts were screaming at him and his guard was on high. He could hear every whisper of wind, every breath.

Breath? Ghosts don't breathe.

A howl from behind him made Edward whirl around. Someone had thrown foul-smelling yellow sludge at Crabbe who was trying to rub it out of his eyes.

"Don't touch your eyes, you idiot! It'll make it hurt more!" Edward shouted.

"It came from over there!" Malfoy screamed, pointing at an empty spot of snow. Perfect.

His back facing the hocus pocus people so none of them could see what he was doing, Edward clapped his hands and transmuted his automail into a short sword.

The place Malfoy was pointing at was wrong. Edward detected excited and slightly hitched breathing six feet to the right.

Edward slashed at the air viciously and there was a short, startled cry.

His blade cut the air cleanly but his foot caught onto something.

Something flashed into visibility and Edward stumbled back in shock. Malfoy and Goyle screamed from somewhere behind him.

"H... Harry?" Edward gasped, staring at the floating head of one Harry Potter.

Elric- 2. Potter- 10.


	20. Chapter 20

**For those of you wondering why my chapters are so short, it's because I'm working on my manuscript which is being published sometime this year. I may be advertising it here after I am done with this story.**

"Sorry, Edward!" Harry muttered and his head vanished from sight. Edward just kept staring even though Harry was gone.

"Harry!" Ron gasped, running towards Edward. "You'd better run for it! If Malfoy tells anyone- you'd better go back now!"

"See you later," came the disembodied voice of Harry and Edward's heart lurched. Sure, he'd seen homunculi, went in and out of the Gate of Truth and somehow, miraculously, survived being in the presence of Major Armstrong. However, this was something Edward could not get used to.

"Uh... wha-?" Edward said numbly. Hermione appeared, offering a hand to him but Edward shook his head and stood up by himself. A quick scan of the place told him that his charge and the other two had disappeared. It was easy to see where they went from the deep imprints left on the snow, showing how Malfoy had slipped once and how Goyle or Crabbe had slid all the way down the slope.

"What was that?" Edward said, when he trusted himself enough to speak without spluttering.

Ron looked away uneasily. "Uhh... nothing."

Edward shook his head. Now was not the time. His charge was somewhere out there without any protection except for two buffoons.

"Yea, alright. I got to go, ok? See you guys later!"

Edward tore after the trail of footprints, transmuting his arm back to normal as he did. He was glad he worked out on a regular basis because he caught his friends just in time as they were boarding the carriage back to Hogwarts.

"Wait up!" Edward called, hauling himself up into the carriage before it took off. Malfoy was trembling in his seat. It was a pleasant change to see the boy looking vulnerable for once instead of his usual evil stepmother demeanour.

"Did you see that?" Crabbe said in a hushed whisper. His eyes were so wide that Edward could see the whites all around his pupil.

"Ghost!" Goyle managed to gasp out between his chattering teeth.

"Are you guys morons?" Malfoy snapped. "Potter's not dead the last time we checked!"

Evil stepmother mode was back online and functioning.

They reached Hogwarts wet and miserable and were greeted with a sour face.

"Why are you boys all filthy?" Professor Snape said in a silky voice.

"Potter!" Goyle blurted out. "His head! We saw his head at Hogsmeade!"

Snape's eyebrow arched delicately.

Malfoy nodded rapidly and explained everything. When he finished, Snape was looking accusingly at Edward who had ever right to look indignant.

"Very well, dry yourselves and stay in the common room. I would like to speak with Potter to clarify this matter."

They started to leave.

"And Elric," Snape said. Edward glared at the professor.

"You are coming with me to enlighten me of any detail I might- ah, miss."

"Sorry to ruin your grand scheme, _sir_. But I am cold and wet." Edward pointed out. Malfoy had an expression of aghast on his face as Edward challenged the professor.

"Go." Snape nodded at the other Slytherins. When they trudged away, Snape's voice was curt.

"Dry yourself."

"Pardon?"

"Use your wand, Elric."

"I'd prefer a hot bath, sir."

"Dry yourself with your wand, Elric. Or do I need to roast you above a fireplace?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT I CAN FIT IN BETWEEN THE CRACKS OF THE BRICKS IN THE FIREPLACE?"

"DRY YOURSELF ELRIC!"

Edward glared mutinously at the professor but pulled the stick reluctantly from his pocket. A reasonable part of him was thanking fates for choosing this day to carry the real stick and not the fake one. The unreasonable part was making him hold the stick with two fingers in obvious disgust.

"I'm waiting, Elric."

"Yea, yea, keep your pants on," Edward muttered under his breath. In a louder voice, he said, "Scourgify!"

The water and grime vanished. Edward almost dropped the stick, feeling tarnished.

Snape smiled unpleasantly. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it? Follow me, Elric."

Shoving the stick into his pocket, Edward grunted and caught up with Snape. They rounded a corner and saw Harry breathlessly emerging behind a statue. His face and hands were muddy and wet.

"Come with me, Potter." Snape said.

Harry's eyes widened even further but he followed Edward and Snape without complaint. As they walked, Potter tried to wipe his hands clean on his robes without Snape noticing.

They reached Snape's office and Edward took a seat before Snape could tell him to. Snape glared at him but did not bother to reprimand him.

"Sit, Potter."

Potter quickly sat and looked apprehensive. Edward put on a sullen expression.

"Mr. Malfoy has just been to see me with a strange story, Potter." Snape looked at Harry, expecting him to say something. Harry sat in his chair, with a deer caught in the headlights eyes. Edward could practically smell his fear.

"He said he saw your head in hogsmeade, Potter. Floating in midair."

Harry just stared in utter dread. There was a long silence.

"Maybe he'd better go to Madam Pomfrey. If he's seeing things like-"

"What would your head be doing in Hogsmeade, Potter? Your head is not allowed in Hogsmeade. No part of your body has permission to be in Hogsmeade."

"I know that! It sounds like Malfoy is hallucinating-"

"Malfoy is not having hallucinations. If your head was in Hogsmeade, so was the rest of you."

Snape had bent down, a hand on each arm of Harry's chair. Their faces were a foot apart and Edward could feel the intensity that emitted from them.

"I was at the Gryffindor tower."

"Can anyone confirm that?"

Harry remained silent. Snape smiled smugly.

"So, everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Harry Potter safe from Sirius Black. But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants to, with no thought of the consequences."

By now, Edward felt like an accessory in the room. He wondered why Snape even wanted him there in the first place.

"How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter. He too was exceedingly arrogant. A small talent in Quidditch and he was strutting around-"

"My dad doesn't strut! And neither do I!" Harry roared. Edward blinked. He knew Harry's parents died when he was a baby but he did not know how strongly he felt about defending his parents honour. Maybe if Hohenheim had left the family when Edward was too young to remember anything, he would be like Al and Harry- gullible.

"Your father didn't set much store for rules either. Rules were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup winners. His head was so swollen-"

"SHUT UP!" Harry was suddenly on his feet.

"What did you say to me, Potter?"

"I told you to shut up about my dad!" Harry yelled. I know the truth, all right? He saved your life! Dumbledore told me! You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for my dad!"

Snape's sallow skin had paled.

"And did the headmaster tell you the circumstances in which your father saved my life?" he whispered. "Or did he consider the details too unpleasant for precious Potter's delicate ears?"

"I would hate for you to run away with a false idea of your father, Potter," Snape continued. "Have you been imagining some act of glorious heroism? Then let me correct you – your saintly father and his friends played a highly amusing joke on me that would have resulted in my death if your father hadn't got cold feet at the last moment. There was nothing brave about what he did. He was saving his own skin as much as mine. Had their joke succeeded, he would have been expelled from Hogwarts."

"Turn out your pockets, Potter!" Snape spat suddenly.

Harry didn't move.

"Elric, turn out his pockets!"

Edward stood up and overturned Harry's pockets. As he did so, his human hand accidentally brushed against Potter's which was stone cold. Edward took out a bag of Zonko's tricks and the Marauder's Map.

Snap picked up the Zonko's bag.

"Ron gave them to me," said Harry. "He -brought them back from Hogsmeade last time-"

"Indeed? And you've been carrying them around ever since? How very touching... and what is this?"

Snape had picked up the map.

"Spare bit of parchment," Harry said with a shrug.

"Surely you don't need such a very old piece of parchment?" Snape said. "Why don't I just- throw this away?"

"No!" Harry said quickly.

"So!" said Snape, his long nostrils quivering. "Is this another treasured gift from Mr. Weasley? Or is it - something else? A letter, perhaps, written in invisible ink? Or instructions to get into Hogsmeade without passing the dementors?"

Edward stared at the map. It was too precious for Snape to take. It was also too dangerous for Harry to use with Sirius Black on the loose. If Edward could somehow get his hands on the parchment, his bodyguard job would not only be infinitely easier, he could also find out what Sirius Black's role was in his job.

Edward was grateful that Snape and Harry were so intent on each other that he did not have to hide the devilish grin that broke onto his face.

"Um... Professor?" Edward said, speaking up for the first time. "I've seen that parchment from Zonko's before. I think I know how it works." He held out a hand towards Snape, ignoring the betrayed look Harry shot him.

"May I, sir?" Edward smiled innocently.


	21. Chapter 21

**Feed me reviews please!**

Snape's eyes narrowed but he handed the parchment over.

With his poker cheating skills, Edward surreptitiously slid the map into the sleeve of his robes and replaced it with a blank piece of spare parchment from his pockets.

Time to put alchemy to use.

"It's a one-time trick," Edward said, grinning ferociously at Snape who looked like he wanted to give him two years worth of detention.

Edward clapped his hands together dramatically and rubbed them together just for the effect.

"Presto change-o!" Edward roared slamming his hands onto the parchment. Blue alchemic light glowed in the room and the paper started to warp grotesquely. It reminded Edward of the first time he used alchemy to impress Winry as a kid.

"Here! Hold it!" Edward said, putting the glowing paper in Snape's hands just as the reaction was about to complete.

The paper curled and crumpled and as the light vanished, it took form.

"What is the meaning of this, Elric?" Snape sneered hatefully.

On the desk sat a paper figurine of Snape in a ridiculous hat and a dress that belonged to someone's grandmother.

"It takes form of the person touching it," Edward said innocently. Beside him, Harry was trying very hard not to laugh and failing at it.

Snape glared at the paper balefully.

"Whoever cast a spell on this has absolutely no taste," Snape hissed. He stormed over to the fireplace, grabbed some powder from a jar and flung it into the fireplace.

"Lupin! I want a word!"

Edward thought that Snape looked extremely stupid talking to the fire. But it was Edward's turn to look stupid when one Professor Lupin suddenly spun out of the fireplace and started brushing ashes from his robes. Edward's mouth went slack with disbelief.

"You called, Severus?" Lupin asked mildly.

Snape gave him a you-think-so look and thrust the paper figurine into his face.

"Before it turned into this form, this used to be a piece of blank parchment. It obviously is full of Dark Magic. This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Lupin. Where do you think Potter got such a thing?"

"Full of Dark Magic?" Lupin repeated mildly. "Do you really think so, Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment that insults anybody who touches it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I imagine Harry got it from a joke shop-"

"Indeed?" said Snape. His jaw had gone rigid with anger. "You think a joke shop could supply him with such a thing? You don't think it more likely that he got it directly from the manufacturers? Someone who actually teaches a certain class in Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors in the beginning of the year?"

Edward tried not to goggle. Was Snape serious? The image of him in Neville's grandmothers clothes was a very well-known fact throughout the entire school. Whether Lupin oversaw that boggart lesson or not did not automatically make him the creator of the paper figurine. Hogwarts had a pretty crazy grapevine. Lupin thought the same too.

"Not to rub it in or anything, Severus. But I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only person who is aware of your- ah, certain state of dressing."

Snape's face started to redden.

As if on cue, Weasley burst into the doorway.

"I- gave- Harry- that- stuff," he choked. "Bought- it... in Zonko's... ages- ago..."

"Well! That seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?" Lupin carefully unfolded the elaborate origami Edward had created and tucked it into his robes. "Harry, Ron, Edward, come with me, I need a word about my vampire essay- excuse us, Severus."

Once they left, Harry tried to speak but Lupin silenced him effectively with a glance.

"I don't want to hear explanations," said Lupin shortly. He glanced around the empty entrance hall and lowered his voice. "I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago. Yes, I know it's a map," he said as Harry and Ron looked amazed. Edward carefully shifted his arm so that the real map did not fall out.

"But I didn't know it had capabilities to insult people through origami. I don't want to know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle lying around. And I can't let you have it back, Harry."

Harry looked dismayed and a little horrified.

"Don't expect me to cover up for you again, Harry. I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you have heard when the dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them- gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks."

Ouch. Edward winced as Harry's face darkened. Lupin, upon dealing the harsh blow, walked away.

Not wanting to answer any questions that might incriminate him, Edward went back towards the Slytherin common room.

On his way, he saw Granger walk past him, holding a bunch of books in her hand. He nodded at her and she nodded back distractedly, traipsing towards the Gryffindor common room.

A heartbeat later, Granger flung down the stairs and rushed towards the dungeons were. Her eyes were filled with tears and there were no sign of books in her hands. There was also snow and soot on her clothes as if she just returned from Hogsmeade.

"Hey Granger!" Edward called but he could be talking to inanimate objects instead.

With a blur of tears, Granger rushed down to where Harry and Weasley were. Something was very wrong. Did she drop her books and fail something or what? It looked like Edward had just seen two different Grangers in the space of the same minute.

Edward wanted to make sure Malfoy was okay and not paralysed with shock but something nagged at him. With a grunt, Edward turned around and broke into a mad sprint after the Gryffindor.

He slowed down when he reached the staircase and evened out his breathing. Moving as stealthily as he could, Edward shifted so that he could get the Gryffindors within earshot.

"Come to have a good gloat?" Weasley was saying nastily. "Or have you just been to tell on us?"

"No," Granger's voice replied shakily. Her voice seemed muffled with tears. "I just thought you ought to know. Hagrid lost the case. Buckbeak's going to be executed."

"They can't do this," said Harry. "They can't. Buckbeak isn't dangerous."

"Malfoy's dad's frightened the Committee into it," came Granger's voice. "You know what he's like. They're a bunch of doddery old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal, though, there always is. Only I can't see any hope... Nothing will have changed."

"Yeah, it will," said Weasley fiercely. "You won't have to do all the work alone this time, Hermione. I'll help."

"Oh, Ron!"

There was a small 'oomph' and hysterical sobbing. Edward guessed that Granger had grabbed Weasley and was hugging him. Edward felt very intrusive suddenly. Slowly, he eased away from the Gryffindors. Edward's mind was whirling as he made his way back to the common room.

There was no way that Granger could have found the news of the chimera's execution, changed into the clothes she wore for Hogsmeade, got them dirty and put that mountain of books down all in the space of a few seconds.

Edward banged his head against the wall in the Slytherin common room, drawing curious glances from his fellow housemates. All this hocus pocus was making his brain hurt.

Or maybe it was the self-inflicted pain due to the repetitive rapping of his skull against the wall. Or both.


	22. Chapter 22

**I love reviews like I love Subway sandwiches. Please make me feel like I just went for lunch! ;D**

"Oi! Look at this!" Crabbe shouted. Contrary to popular belief, Crabbe and Goyle did have brains and were capable of speaking for themselves.

However, no one in the common room was interested enough to talk to him so Edward walked over. Not contrary to popular belief was that the few things they did talk about was food which Edward was a big fan of.

"What?" Edward asked, coming over. To his utter surprise, Crabbe was hunched over a pile of books.

"Snape asked us to do an essay of werewolves when he took over Lupin's class and we're not supposed to learn that yet."

Edward stared at the werewolf drawing in the book with something close to horror.

"Crabbe," Edward whispered.

Crabbe looked up questioningly as Edward stared intently. Edward turned large, round eyes towards him.

"You are doing HOMEWORK?" Edward gasped.

Crabbe grunted huffily and pushed Edward away. Edward merely grinned and seated himself in one of the comfortable plush couches in the corner.

Taking out the journal Mustang and Hawkeye had given him for Christmas and a quill, Edward opened the library book to the earmarked page.

The book was a lucky find. An illegal one as well. Edward had snuck into the restricted section of the library and found a book titled The Philosopher's Stone by Nicolas Flamel. Flamel was a known alchemist in the hocus pocus world. He was famous in Edward's world too. The symbol on the back of his coat was Flamel's symbol and the tattoo on teacher's collarbone.

For the first time in a very long while, Edward had a good lead on the philosopher's stone. Tuning out the chatter that he had grown comfortable with over the months, Edward began to read.

The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.

There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).

Edward chewed on the bottom of his lip thoughtfully. Flamel and his wife sounded like a Homunculi. Could he be someone Edward actually knew but with a different name? He could not imagine any one of the Seven Sins being married to each other though.

He got his answer as he read on. Nicolas Flamel had died recently with his wife when the stone was destroyed. There were mentions of Harry's name and Moldemort's and a guy called Quirrell. From what he read, Dumbledore had destroyed the stone.

Another failed lead.

With a growl of frustration, Edward flung the book down childishly.

"Ed, what's wrong?" Amy asked. She bent down and picked up the thick book he was reading.

Edward ignored her petulantly. Every lead he had come up with kept failing. Edward pulled out his glove and stared at his automail hand. He clenched and unclenched it.

"You know, Ed," a new voice said. "It might help if you talked. We're friends after all."

Edward stared at Goyle in shock. First, Crabbe was doing homework. No Goyle was actually sounding mature.

He sighed heavily.

"Thanks guys, but I don't want to talk about it at the moment."

"What's with the thick book anyway?" Amy asked, closing the book and handing it back to Edward who accepted it grudgingly.

Edward smiled. "A little light reading."

"Blimey! You're starting to become Slytherin's Hermione Granger!"

"Hey!" Edward protested indignantly. "Have you seen her hair? My hair kicks her hair's butt!"

Malfoy came down the stairs just in time to hear Edward's comment.

"I don't which is worse- you in Slytherin or Potter and his dumb friends." Malfoy sneered. Edward did not grace his insult with a reply. Instead, he did a very posh thing. He stuck out his tongue at Malfoy.

"Get going, Elric," Malfoy growled. "We've got Care of Magical Creatures now." He looked happy at that fact though and it was no surprise why. The chimera was set to be executed soon.

Hagrid was a wreck.

"S'all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They was all sittin' there in black robes an' I kep' droppin' me notes and forgettin' all them dates yeh looked up fer me, Hermione. An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em..." Hagrid sobbed to Harry and his friends.

Malfoy rolled his eyes at Edward.

"Why's he doing this in the middle of lesson? I'm reporting him to Father."

"Not much of a lesson anyway," Edward muttered back, poking a leaf at a Flobberworm.

After lesson, a tearful Hagrid ran back to his cottage, nose running and tears streaking. Harry and his friends were conversing in low voices and Malfoy decided to follow them.

"Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?" said Malfoy. "And he's supposed to be our teacher!"

Harry and Weasley both made furious moves toward Malfoy, but Granger got there first. She raised her hand and brought it down onto Malfoy's cheek.

Edward saw the blow coming but the vindictive side of him let Granger's hand fall.

The slap was so hard it resounded pleasantly in Edward's ears.

"Ouch," Edward said, trying to sound empathetic.

"Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul-" Granger was raving. She raised her hand again but this time, Edward caught the blow before she could strike him.

"Get off, Edward!" Granger shrieked.

"C'mon," Malfoy muttered and Edward released her with a warning glare. Granger did not look like she was going to hit his charge again but she was spluttering incoherently with fury.

"Harry, you'd better beat him in the Quidditch final!" Granger shouted shrilly as the Slytherins walked back to the dungeons. "You just better had, because I can't stand it if Slytherin wins!"

"Draco," Goyle started to say but Malfoy whirled on him, eyes blazing with humiliation and rage.

"SHUT UP GOYLE!"

Goyle shrank away at his tone.

"No need to take it up on him, Malfoy!" Edward hissed. "Just because you got hit by a gi-"

"NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION ELRIC! YOU KNOW WHAT? SINCE YOU'RE SO COZY WITH POTTER AND HIS FRIENDS WHY DON'T YOU JUST JOIN GRYFFINDOR?" Malfoy snarled and stormed away to nurse his bruised ego.

Edward rolled his eyes and headed to the library instead of going to Transfiguration which was the next lesson. No Malfoy, no McGonagall, no hocus pocus.

He was surprised when he saw Granger already there with an open Arithmacy book on the table.

"Edward," Granger acknowledged when she saw him. She nodded to the open seat opposite her and Edward sat down.

"Where's Malfoy and the rest?" Her lips curled at Malfoy's name in disgust.

"Transfiguration," Edward muttered and Granger looked scandalised.

"You're skipping class?" Her voice rose by an octave and the librarian hushed her with a loud 'Shhh'. Granger blushed.

She lowered her voice and repeated her question in the same obnoxious tone.

"Yea," Edward said. "Don't like it and don't really want to see Malfoy right now."

"B... but you're skipping class!" Granger hissed. Her voice was rising dangerously to the level where librarians would come over and personally chase you out.

"Who cares," Edward muttered and opened the Nicolas Flamel book.

Miss know-it-all was evidently not done with him. "That's against the rules and Transfiguration is one of the most important- wait! Isn't that the Philosopher's Stone by Nicolas Flamel?"

Edward looked up at her sharply. "How do you know?"

Granger suddenly looked guarded and her reply was cautious. "There was something about a Philosopher's Stone in our first year. And we did a little research. Why are you reading it?"

We probably meant Harry and Weasley. This time, Edward was the one who replied cautiously but he tried to throw it off by sounding offhand.

"You were reading about alchemists the other day and I got curious."

"Oh!" Granger exclaimed, looking delighted as if she had found a kindred soul. "If you like, you can borrow the book I've been reading. It's pretty interesting. It's not the same as the alchemists I've read about in most books but the concept of alchemy without magic is pretty intriguing!"

Edward kept his poker face on as Granger pulled out the same book she showed him a few months ago. Alchemy: The Lost Art. He grimaced. Another lead failed. Books that said alchemists were gold manufacturers were pretty much unreliable.

"According to this book, alchemists in some parts of the world use alchemic circles instead of magic to change materials into gold!"

"Circles?" Edward said slowly.

Granger started rifling through the pages and went on talking as she did. Her eyes lit up with passion and curiosity which Edward, although he hated to admit it, was reminded of himself.

"Look!" Granger said, pointing at a circle in the book. Edward took the book from her and stared at the circle and the material list in the book. The minerals were essentially what was needed to make gold and the circle's reaction was perfect down to the T.

This reaction was banned, as far as Edward knew and no one would be so stupid as to publish it. So why were there banned reactions in this book? Time stopped. Banned reactions. What if there were things about creating the Philosopher's Stone?

Edward glanced up to see Granger studying him with a strange expression on his face. Crap. He did not give anything away, did he?

"So is the whole book about how to make gold?" Edward asked casually.

"Not really," Granger said then she blushed deeply with embarrassment. "There's a lot I didn't understand about the book." She paused, looking scandalised with herself as if she had just admitted to soiling her pants.

Her expression cleared instantly and she looked vigorous with excitement again. She snatched the book from Edward and started flipping through it violently.

"It also talks about how alchemists are used in the military! It's really fascinating! According to the book, alchemists with extraordinary abilities are called Special Alchemists and are usually the people who are sent out to the front lines."

Edward almost corrected her but he remembered he was not supposed to have a clue about State Alchemists. Granger did not even notice Edward's distraction.

"I also read that some Special Alchemists don't even need a circle!" Granger continued flipping furiously. "They even say he's a prodigy and what's more, he's our age! The Fullmetal Alchemist, Hero of the people!"

_Poker face, poker face,_ Edward chanted mentally.

"Look! They even have his picture!" Granger said and Edward froze in his seat.

Granger turned the book around so Edward could see it.

It was a picture of Alphonse.

"WHY DOESN'T ANYONE GET IT RIGHT? I'M THE OLDER BROTHER! WHO IS THIS GUY? IS HE CALLING ME SHORT? I'M GOING TO FIND HIM AND KICK HIS ASS!"

Oops. His voice had just reached librarian-throw-you-out level.


	23. Chapter 23

**Did I mention Vic Mignogna is amazing?**

Fortunately, the librarian did not throw him out. However, Edward had bigger things to worry about at the moment. Like how to explain his outburst to Granger.

"Ed, are you alright?" Granger asked, brows furrowed with concern.

Edward rested his forehead against the table, bangs spilling out from either side of his head. He gave a noncommittal grunt as a response.

"Ed?" Granger said.

Edward lifted his head and smiled tiredly. "Sorry, I guess, that picture reminded me of my little brother. He wears armour wherever we go and people often mistake me as the younger brother."

Granger raised her eyebrow. "So that whole tirade was a reflex action. Ouch, you must be real touchy about being called sho-"

Edward glared at her venomously.

"Uh... nothing."

"Good. Where were we? Oh, so tell me more about this Fullmetal Alchemist. He sounds like a pretty neat guy."

"He is, actually! From the book, the people say that without the armour, he's a pretty good looking guy."

"He is, huh?" Edward said with a delighted grin that he could not quite hide.

"Apparently, the author has even seen him before when the Fullmetal Alchemist was passing through his town. He refused to pay for the significant amount of damage he wrecked upon their town and passed on the debt to his superiors."

Granger frowned. "Some hero of the people, huh?"

"Hey! Give the guy a break. At least he's getting the things paid for right? Tell me more about the good looking part."

"Uh... the book says he's Viagra on legs but that's it."

"That's it? C'mon! It sounds like the author probably never seen him before!"

"I don't think he has. I mean, the guy wears a suit of armour. No offense to your little brother, but that sounds pretty crazy. Maybe all Special Alchemists have to wear armour, seeing that they're the front liners in war."

"Maybe," Edward muttered, disgruntled. "Can I borrow this book? I'll return it to you when I'm done."

"Sure," Granger said, handing the book over. She glanced at the article about the Fullmetal Alchemist which Edward was reading intently. She coughed delicately.

"Uh... Ed. I know the book says he's a stunner but uh... you're not gay are you?"

Edward Elric spluttered.

"Hermione, why didn't you come to Charms?"

Edward glanced up when Harry and Weasley joined them at the table in the library. Harry waved at Edward who grinned back.

"What? Oh no!" Granger squeaked. "I forgot to go to Charms!"

"But how could you forget?" said Harry. "You were with us till we were right outside the classroom!"

"I don't believe it!" Granger wailed. "Was Professor Flitwick angry? Oh, it was Malfoy, I was thinking about him and I lost track of things!"

"You know what, Hermione?" said Wealey, looking down at the enormous Arithmancy on the table. "I reckon you're cracking up. You're trying to do too much."

"No, I'm not!" said Granger, staring hopelessly around for her bag. "I just made a mistake, that's all! I'd better go and see Professor Flitwick and say sorry... I'll see you in Divination!"

Edward narrowed his eyes as the Gryffindors left. There was something Granger was not telling him.

He returned to his dormitory and gingerly took out the real hocus pocus stick and the map.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," Edward whispered and shivered as the gruesome feeling of magic rushed through his arm. He dropped the stick instantly and watched as the ink appeared on the map.

There were a lot of movement in the map since it was the end of all classes and people were moving back to their common rooms. It was difficult but Edward found Granger with Harry and Weasley near the tower. Nothing strange there except... except there was another Hermione Granger in the Muggle Studies classroom.

Edward frowned. How did she manage to be in two places at once? Did she duplicate herself?

There was a knock on his door and Edward shoved the map and stick into the drawer without erasing the map.

Edward opened the door and recognised the Quidditch captain Marcus Flint.

"Whoa, nice place, Elric. You've got the whole room to yourself!" Flint whistled and Edward shrugged.

"C'mon, Slytherin meeting in the common room. I've got some news to tell you guys."

The news was not good. So was his seat. To fit the whole Slytherin house into the common room was first of all, not a good idea. Edward was squashed up against Millicent Bullstrode or rather, Millicent Bullstrode was squashing him.

"Can't breathe!" Edward gasped but he did not think anyone heard him.

Flint had done something so that his voice was magnified throughout the room.

"So, I've got some really bad news. Warrington broke his arm when the stupid Gryffindor bitch 'accidentally' shot a bone shattering spell at him."

His announcement was greeted by furious shouts, none of them PG 13.

"An unworthy attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor seeker!" Flint mimicked McGonagall's voice. "And what does she say when Gryffindor shatters every bone in our beater's arm a few weeks before the finals? 'Oh, silly me, that is an unexpected accident. Oh, boo hoo, poor Slytherin.'"

More furious yowls.

"So I'm going to have an emergency Slytherin tryout. Anyone who is a third year and above in the field now!"

The Slytherins practically dashed for the door. Edward groaned. Must he? Exams were coming up and he really wanted to read the book Granger had lent him.

The tryouts lasted the whole day and into the night. At least Edward had brought the book and was making notes in his new journal. However, no one could tell if the journal was new since it was already so worn and Edward was writing so much, the book was almost half used.

"Elric! Get your nerdy ass down here and fly this thing!" Flint yelled.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT I CAN'T COME DOWN FROM THE STANDS BECAUSE THE STAIRS ARE SO HIGH AND I HAVE TO USE A ROPE TO GET FROM ONE STEP TO THE NEXT?"

"I didn't say that, you dolt! Now get down here!"

One thing Edward really loved about Slytherins was that they had potty mouths like him. One thing he did not like about them was that one of them was handing a broom to him as if he expected Edward to do something.

Edward took it and looked at Flint questioningly. "Okay, what do you want me to sweep?"

"What are you talking about you idiot? Fly!"

"You've got to be kidding me."

Flint sighed heavily and grabbed the broom back. "Spread your legs, Elric!"

Edward looked worriedly at the rest of the Slytherin team. Malfoy was snickering at him.

"He's not gay, is he?" Edward asked.

"JUST DO IT, ELRIC! It's been a shitty day and not one of them can fly decently! If we don't do this well, we're going to lose to those Gryffindors!" Flint roared.

Edward did as he was told and Flint slid the broom between his legs. Edward held on to the end of the broom as Flint indicated and felt like a complete moron.

"Now," Flint said between gritted teeth. He looked defeated as if he had already lost the Quidditch Cup. There was no one else left in the stands so Edward was probably his final hope or final despair. "You push against the ground with your legs and fly. If you are comfortable, we'll give you a bat and see how you go with a bludger."

"You're not trying to seduce me, are you, Flint?"

"JUST KICK OFF, ELRIC!"

Edward, still feeling like an idiot, kicked off from the ground and expected to fall flat on his face.

Instead, the broom flew. Edward yelled a manly war cry, not sounding at all like a scared five year old screaming for his life.

The broom zoomed up a few hundred feet above ground until the Slytherins below were out of sight.

"AHHHHHHH!" Edward shrieked in a very manly way as the broom buffeted him from left to right, trying to throw him off. Where was the steering wheel on this thing?

The air around him was frigid but Edward did not know if it was because it was due to the night air or his own fear.

The broom lurched and for a horrible second, Edward felt his whole body lift away from the broom. He clutched against the old wood with his automail arm, glad that there were no human nerves in them or else his arm would have slackened and he would be plunging to his death.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the broom just had to plummet down.

And Edward let out a very loud, manly shriek.


	24. Chapter 24

**Nothing to say here except REVIEW PLEASE! ^^**

Ok, think. You are at the last moments of your life, falling at ninety an hour, with nothing but an old broom to break your fall. What do you do? Of course, the logical answer is to cue in flashbacks.

Edward saw his life flash past him. He saw his father and mother, his brother, the very first mission in Youswell. Of all people to remember in the last moments of his life, Edward saw the ugly face of Lieutenant Yoki. He hoped Yoki was grateful. Yoki was not falling to his death like him. Yoki should probably thank God for serving time in prison instead of rushing to the ground at an alarming speed. His assistant, Lyra, should probably do the same.

Funny, what your mind thinks of as you are about to die.

Lyra. Wasn't she the alchemist who could make use of compressed cold air?

And Edward did a very stupid thing. He let go of the broom and plunged down faster.

Screaming, Edward clapped his hands and spread them in front of him. The air below him compressed into a hot tiny space and whirled upwards. Suddenly, Edward was no longer falling.

But Newton's law came into play. Exert a force, an equal and opposite force is exerted back on you. Edward's legs crumpled underneath him when he stopped abruptly in midair. He winced painfully as if he had just slammed into hard, solid ground. Air or hard cement was the same thing when it came to physics. Both of them could kill you with a little inertia.

Edward was glad that he landed on his automail leg instead of his flesh one. However, he would not be glad if Winry found out about the condition of his automail.

The broom fell towards him and Edward grabbed it weakly before it could hit him on his head.

When he finally recovered, Edward stood up shakily in the air and mounted the broom. He imagined the array he wanted in his head and allowed the air to guide him safely back down to the ground.

His knees felt weak when he touched down but he did not care. All Edward wanted to do was to kiss the ground.

"Okay guys, we have to be fast. Malfoy and Montague, fly east. Derrick, fly around the perimeter. Go! Make sure Elric's okay!"

"I'm here!" Edward croaked from his ungraceful position on the ground.

Flint whirled around and the panic faded from his face, His shoulders sagged.

"Heavens! You're alright!" Flint said. "I thought you crashed into the tower of something."

Edward was too tired to respond. Once the adrenaline left him, he felt weak and boneless.

"Well, that was an impressive flight. The way you took off so fast. Must be because you're so small and light that the broom responded well to your speed."

Edward did not even bother acknowledging the jibe.

"Good, now try again. This time we're going to try batting."

"WHAT?" Edward roared.

An hour later, Edward was back in the safe, sweet confines of his room, bludger free and broom free. The second time was not difficult at all. All Edward had to do was memorise a couple of arrays instead of inventing them on the spot. That shortened the response time and gave him an extra second to bat away a heavy ball.

A few seconds meant a lot. It was the difference between an Edward Elric and an Edward Elric with a broken nose.

When Flint finally let him go with a satisfied nod, Edward was exhausted. Manipulating air currents and density was not Edward's forte and he was starting to find a new respect in Lyra even though she used to be the enemy.

Edward trudged to his bed but was asleep even before he reached it.

The whole of Slytherin House was obsessed with the coming match. Slytherin had been on a winning streak and no one wanted this year to be the year where to streak was broken. Especially because most of the Slytherins saw this as an opportunity to avenge Warrington.

Many times, Edward found himself cornered as Slytherins wished him luck and told him to rock the Quidditch field. They were all ignorant. It was one thing to want Slytherin to win and another to actually be part of the team and playing.

Even Flint had started to give Edward private lessons in batting which made Edward more tired and shorten his time spent on keeping watch on Malfoy. The only plus point was that he got to keep an eye on Malfoy during Quidditch practise.

Malfoy did not work well with the other boys, much to Edward's surprise. He thought that Malfoy would be chummy with his Slytherin teammates but Malfoy was normally seen at a corner while the team discussed tactics together.

Subtract Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy was just... vulnerable.

Moreover, the Gryffindors were starting to become nasty to the Slytherins and vice versa. Most of the fights were centred on the premise that the Gryffindors sabotaged the Slytherin beater but in all actuality, Edward suspected that tension was running high with the upcoming match and both sides needed an avenue to vent.

According to Harry, he was having a particularly bad time of it. He could not walk to class without Slytherins sticking out their legs and trying to trip him up.

Edward used to have the same problem with the Gryffindors but he repaid them with a little something of his own, hence the 'used to'.

Crabbe and Goyle were assigned by Flint to try and sabotage the Gryffindor seeker as a form of payback but Harry was accompanied everywhere he went by Gryffindors which caused blockages in the hallway.

It got so bad that someone had even tried to slip vomiting potion into Edward's food. His food, for goodness sake! But Goyle, being the glutton he was, snatched up the duck Edward had been saving and promptly swallowed it before Edward could stop him.

The entire Slytherin table could not stomach their food after they saw pieces of Goyle flavoured food across the table.

Only Crabbe continued to eat.

Edward hoped that the Quidditch game would be over soon. He wanted his plate vomit-free.

Every night, Edward would consult his map (he never erased it since it saved him the trouble of using the wand). He began to notice a pattern. There was only one Granger after all lessons ended for that day and two Grangers when lessons were ongoing. Aside from that anomaly, Malfoy was where he should be. There was also no sign of Sirius Black in Hogwarts.

The night before the game, everyone in Slytherin took turns to give Edward more pressure to win. Edward slipped into the bedroom before anyone could chase him down to give him tips on how to smash Gryffindors in the nose in midair.

Edward carefully placed a chair against the door and took out the map. He searched for Malfoy's name first and noticed he was in his dormitory a little earlier than he always would. Next, he searched for Granger. Yup, only one Granger.

The only people who were walking through the corridors at night were Filch and the ghosts. Everyone seemed to be in their own beds. Except one person.

Edward squinted at two dots in one of the dorm beds in Gryffindor. One of them was labelled Ronald Weasley, the other Peter Pettigrew, a name he did not recognise. That was odd. Why were the two boys doing anyway?

Edward shoved the map into the drawer. He stubbornly refused to erase the map despite the off chance that someone would find it. Edward Elric did not like magic. And he was sure that tomorrow, he was not going to like it any more.

Earlier in the evening, Edward had mailed his daily letter to Alphonse. Today's letter was particularly short.

_Al_, i_f you do not hear anything from me the next day, it means I am a victim of flying brooms. If the damage is permanent, please do not write 'Edward Elric- Death by a broom, killed in action while guarding a white-haired goof' on my headstone. It's embarrassing._

_Ed._


	25. Chapter 25

**Reviews are like chapsticks. You can't go wrong with too much of it.**

This was what it felt like to be a star. Edward walked in front of Malfoy and behind Flint into the stadium. Tumultuous cheers rose around him. Green and silver flags were flashing all around him and Slytherins were shouting their names.

No wonder Mustang enjoyed his popularity.

Snape was sitting at the front row, wearing green and a smug smile. In Edward's book, that was equivalent to someone screaming and jumping up and down in joy.

The Gryffindors were coming into the field from the other end. Three quarters of the crowd were wearing their colours which yeah- meant that Slytherin was not popular at all.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" yelled Lee Jordan, who was acting as commentator as usual. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years-"

The Slytherins booed. Flint sneered. Malfoy spat on the ground. Edward side-stepped quickly to avoid it.

"And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill-"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL A SNITCH COULD SIT ON HIM AND SQUISH HIM FLAT!?" Edward screamed.

Jordan did have a point, despite a very biased and insulting one. Everyone, save for Edward and Malfoy, were humongous. They could easily be Armstrong's match for size and build.

Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other's hand very tightly. It looked as though each was trying to break the other's fingers.

"Mount your brooms!" said a woman with grey hair. "Three... two... one..."

The sound of her whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as thirteen brooms rose into the air. Edward took a second to form the array and then he was in the air with everyone else.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinner of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no- Quaffle intercepted by Marcone, Marcone of Slytherin tearing UP the field- WHAM!- nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Marcone drops the Quaffle, it's caught by- Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina- nice swerve around Montague- duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger!- SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Edward zoomed dangerously close to the commentator's box and spun around so swiftly that the end of his broom smacked Jordan in his face. Was everyone a Gryffindor supporter around here?

"HEY!" Jordan shouted, but Edward had zoomed away. "The recent addition to the team, Edward Elric, the new kid, has raised his bat and OUCH! George Weasley has taken a hit! That looks painful! Quite surprising for one so small to pack up quite a hit."

Edward gritted his teeth and debated going back to stuff Jordan's mouth with old, smelly broom bristles.

"Great shot, Elric!" Flint roared and gave him a thumbs up. In doing so, he did not see where he was going and his broom hurtled into the Gryffindor girl.

"Sorry!" said Flint as the crowd below booed. "Sorry, didn't see her!"

A moment later, Weasley chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed.

"What the heck, man!" Flint shouted. "It was really an accident!"

"That will do!" shrieked the grey-haired woman, zooming between then. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"

"Come off it, Miss!" howled Weasley, but she blew her whistle and Alicia flew forward to take the penalty.

"Come on, Alicia!" yelled Jordan into the silence that had descended on the crowd. "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

"HEY! Aren't you commentators supposed to be impartial!" One of the Slytherins yelled.

Flint had blood all over his face and looked like something that just came out of a horror film. He guided his broom to take the penalty.

"'Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Jordan told the crowd as Flint waited for Madam Hooch's whistle. "Superb! Very difficult to pass- very difficult indeed- YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!"

"DAMN!" Edward cursed and his frustration, he smacked a passing bludger at one of the Weasleys. The Weasley hit the bludger back with practised ease but Edward reduced the air density underneath him and he plummeted down for a second and the bludger zoomed past him.

Weasley was looking at him in surprise.

"Whoa! Did you see that? Elric just performed a Drop! Incredible broom work for a beginner! Not even the pros can master it!"

Oops. Edward did not know how brooms were supposed to fly in this place.

"ELRIC!" Flint shouted. "Hit the damn bludger at Potter! Don't let him catch the Snitch!"

"GOTCHA!" Edward shouted back with a fierce grin.

"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession- no! Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field- THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of Bell, and instead of seizing the Quaffle had grabbed her head. Bell cart wheeled in the air, managed to stay on her broom, but dropped the Quaffle.

The whistle rang out again as the referee soared over to Montague and began shouting at him. A minute later, Bell had put another penalty past the Slytherin Seeker.

"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING-"

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way-"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"

Edward saw Harry suddenly narrowed his eyes in concentration and sped off towards the Slytherin end.

Not so fast. Edward intercepted the bludger Weasley was trying to hit in a way he was not supposed to because the crowd oohed. Who cares anyway.

Edward raised his bat and swung hard. The heavy ball shot towards Harry and hit his broom in the tail. The hit unbalanced him and Harry let out a yell in surprise as he tried to balance himself. Edward directed the air currents to propel himself towards the other bludger and smacked it as hard as he could.

The bludger grazed Harry's elbow and there was a moment of disorientation and Harry lost sight of the Snitch.

"Good job!" Flint yelled.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle- Flint alongside her- poke him in the eye, Angelina!- it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke– oh no- Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goal posts, come on now, Wood, save-!"

Jordan swore into the microphone and Edward heard the microphone being wrested away by McGonagall.

"Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession."

It felt like war. Dirty and vicious. Bole hit Bell with his club and tried to say he had thought she was a Bludger. Edward thought it was a valid reason.

Weasley elbowed Bole in the face and the referee awarded both teams penalties which made the score forty-ten to Gryffindor.

Bell scored again. Fifty-ten.

And Derrick aimed the bludger at Wood.

"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!" the referee shrieked Derrick. "Gryffindor penalty!"

And Bell scored. Sixty-ten. Moments later, Weasley pelted a Bludger at Flint, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands. Bell seized it and put it through the Slytherin goal- seventy-ten.

Edward saw it before Harry did. A sparkle of gold.

There were no bludgers nearby and there was not enough time.

A new transmutation circle formed in his mind and Edward released the air pressure around him.

Jordan was shouting something about Edward's fabulous broomwork and the crowds were going crazy. Edward just felt stupid for letting himself drop to his death.

He swerved up just in time to catch a bludger with his bat and flung it at Harry.

The ball was only a minor distraction, however, as Harry dodged it perfectly and continued his spurt towards the golden ball.

Malfoy, who was tailing him, lurched forward and grabbed the end of Harry's broom until the Snitch disappeared.

Edward hoped that Harry did not use the broom to sweep away cobwebs and cockroach poo for Malfoy's sake.

"Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics." The referee screeched, shooting up to where Malfoy was sliding back onto his broom. His hair was windblown and his face was pale after pulling such a dangerous stunt.

"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Jordan was howling into the megaphone, dancing out of Professor McGonagall's reach. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B-"

Bell took Gryffindor's penalty, but she missed by several feet. The Gryffindor team was losing concentration and the Slytherins were picking up speed.

"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal- Montague scores-" Lee groaned. "Seventy- twenty to Gryffindor..."

"Derrick's bludger hits! Ouch! Angelina Johnson drops the Quaffle! Weasley intercepts the bludger and-"

The warning came too late. Edward glanced around to see the heavy metal ball pelting straight at him.

Fervently, Edward hoped that Al would not to write Death by Broomstick or Death by Ball. Although Death by 30 kilograms of metal did sound pretty cool and exciting.


	26. Chapter 26

**Sweets give you cavities. Bad ones. So this is a daily reminder to brush your teeth properly. This message is brought to you by health conscious author.**

Edward raised his automail arm at the last second and saved his life. The bludger may be 30 kilograms of metal but his automail was one of the best, if not the best, in the world.

Crazy gearhead's creation versus one magical ball and crazy gearhead's creation won the match.

The referee zoomed up to Edward on her broomstick and demanded to know if he was okay.

"Fine!" Edward said, twirling his bat and grinning. The referee looked stunned.

She pulled up his sleeve and gasped when she saw the automail. Edward winced. It was dented slightly from the hit. The next thing he had to do was to find a nice plot for his grave and inscribe something elegant on his tombstone before Winry killed him.

"I'm fine!" Edward repeated, shaking his sleeve down before anyone else in the stadium could see.

At the corner of his eye, Malfoy dived suddenly. Edward whipped around to see Harry tailing Malfoy. Harry's broom was faster but Malfoy was nearer to the ball.

There was a scuffle and Harry was standing on his broom, reaching out to grab the ball.

Not so fast.

Edward pelted a bludger at Harry who jumped, avoiding the bludger and catching the Snitch.

The whistle blew and Edward directed the air current so that he was back safely on the ground. The Slytherin team converged and no one looked particularly happy.

"He pushed my arm away!" Malfoy shrieked, throwing his broom onto the ground. "I could have won!"

"Forget it, Malfoy! Those lousy Gryffindors are nothing but cheaters." Bole muttered.

And the whole Slytherin was in agreement with Bole. Even with the exams ongoing, Slytherins trying to jinx the Gryffindor team was too common to be considered a breach of school rules after a while.

Edward could not seem to understand the hostility that brew up from the game and simply ignored everyone. He was more focussed on his task on observing Malfoy. It was high time that he return home.

The Potions examination was extremely successful where Edward was one of the only ones who managed to actually to brew something that worked. The task was a Confusing Potion. Edward added a heavy dose of Codeine into the mixture and a carefully measured about of hydrochloric acid to decrease the alkalinity of the solution. He never turned on the fire until late into the experiment to slowly remove the excess water when the rest of the students had fires blazing at the start of the experiment.

Snape scrawled a huge zero on his paper when he passed Harry's table and two zeros when he passed Edward's. It could only mean a perfect grade. Take that! Science has done it again! You can never go wrong with science.

The rest of the exams passed by in a blur except for Transfiguration which was so disastrous McGonagall was literally ripping hair from her head. Don't ask.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was the only subject Edward had to use the hocus pocus stick for. The test was a sort of obstacle course outside in the sun, where they had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing an unusual looking chimera, cross a series of potholes full of things that will not die no matter how much Edward slashed his automail blade at them, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new boggart.

It was at the boggart stage where Edward had to actually whip out his stick, banish it away using hocus pocus words and struggle not to emerge from the exit looking disgusted.

The exams were almost over. All that was left with was the fortune telling examination conducted by the lady with googly eyes in the afternoon. Edward's class had a break before the exam so he decided to spend it doing something constructive like stalking Malfoy.

Instead of studying in the dungeons with the rest of the third years, Malfoy had quietly stood up and left without asking Crabbe and Goyle to follow him. Edward had been observing him too long to be the only one who noticed this.

Counting to ten, Edward closed his eyes for a moment and put down the book he was pretending to study. He opened them again and with the same quiet demeanour, left the common room as well.

Time to find out what daddy's boy was up to.

Edward followed Malfoy carefully, sticking to the shadows cast by the firelight but careful not to be too close. Firelights in dark hallways tend to make shadows exceedingly long because of their position. It took effort not to give a hint of his presence away.

When Malfoy left the castle to stroll the courtyards, Edward quickly shortened the distance between them and almost was spotted by the person Malfoy was meeting.

He was old and withered looking but had vitality in his face. The man was wearing a green bowler hat and had a cane with him.

"Pity... pity..." The man was saying to Malfoy. Edward searched his brain, wondering where he had heard that voice before.

"It's not a pity when you see what the creature did to my arm, sir." Malfoy retorted. He had bandaged his arm again despite displaying almost acrobatic stunts during the Quidditch Cup.

"Still, it is a pity to execute such a fine beast," the man sighed. Of course! He was the man from Hogsmeade. The one who talked to the teachers about Sirius Black.

"The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in." Bowler Hat said. "I do need you to come along with me to identify if the creature is the one who attacked you."

"With pleasure," Malfoy said with a grin.

Edward followed them more cautiously now that he was out in the open.

As Malfoy approached the chimera, Edward had to stop himself from lurching forward in case Malfoy was attacked again.

Malfoy said something to Bowler Hat who nodded and dismissed him. Malfoy's eyes became downcast but he left grudgingly.

Edward debated between following Bowler Hat or returning back to the castle with Malfoy but remembered he still had an exam with the googly eyes woman.

"She's seeing us all separately," Goyle informed Edward as he went to sit down next to him. He had his copy of Unfogging the Future open on his lap which did not really surprise Edward anymore. The boy actually studied and was not as brainless as he looked.

The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it okay?"

But they all refused to say. Malfoy was growing impatient and kept looking at his watch. Edward knew the chimera's execution was at 2 o' clock and it was already past one.

"Draco Malfoy," said a misty voice from over their heads. Malfoy grimaced and climbed the silver ladder out of sight. Edward was now the only person left to be tested. He settled himself on the floor with his back against the wall, listening to a fly buzzing in the sunny window, thinking about what Malfoy was going to do about the chimera's execution.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, Malfoy traipsed down the ladder looking bored.

"Where are you going later?" Edward asked him, standing up.

"Mind your own business, Elric." Malfoy spat back.

The tower room was hot. The curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and a sickly scent made Edward cough as he stumbled through the clutter of chairs and table to where the woman with googly eyes sat waiting for him before a large crystal ball.

"Good day, my dear," she said softly. "If you would kindly gaze into the Orb... Take your time, now... then tell me what you see within it..."

Edward bent over the crystal ball and stared, feeling like an idiot.

"Well?" Googly Eyes prompted delicately. "What do you see?"

The heat was overpowering and his nostrils were stinging with the perfumed smoke wafting from the fire beside them.

"I see two large round orbs," Edward said, thinking he should hurry up and find Malfoy before he did something stupid. "They are really dark and bottomless looking."

"Really now? Can you figure out what it is or what lies beyond." She said 'beyond' like it was a fantastical place with unicorns.

"Oh- er, yea. It's quite hard but I think I can see something."

"Go on," Googly Eyes exclaimed, voice rising in a crescendo. "Do you see emptiness? Souls screaming? Or the promise of despair?"

"Um... not really. I think I see a little booger coming out from your nose, Professor."


	27. Chapter 27

Edward bumped into nothing when he came out of the tower.

"What the-" Edward groaned, rubbing his forehead. He had caught a glimpse of the red and gold robes of Gryffindor before they vanished into thin air. Well, not that thin, considering the bump on Edward's head.

Edward sat on the ground, still dumbfounded until he heard three pairs of uneven footsteps shuffling away. Odd.

Shrugging, Edward went outside. The Slytherins were having a party in the courtyard celebrating the end of the exams. Being the last person to take the Divination exam, by the time Edward arrived, the party was almost over and they were beginning to clean up.

"Hey, Ed!" Amy shouted, waving him over. Malfoy was looking very smugly at Hagrid's cottage. Edward's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"How was it?" she asked when Edward joined them.

"I probably failed," Edward said, noticing that Malfoy was looking eagerly at the cottage. Was the execution starting already?

Amy was saying something but Edward tuned out her chattering. When Malfoy started to tap his foot on the picnic mat impatiently, Edward turned to Amy with an apologetic smile.

"Listen, I have to see Hagrid after my exams. He got me a potion to stop my monster book from trying to bite off my head."

"I'll come too. I want to see the look on his sniffling face!" Malfoy cackled. Crabbe and Goyle stood up beside him dutifully.

Amy glared at Malfoy reproachfully but it was only half-hearted. She took a large bite off her cake and waved her classmates away.

Malfoy was planning something, Edward was sure of it.

"Come on!" Malfoy hissed impatiently and Edward quickened his pace to join him.

As they neared the cottage, Edward thought he saw another swish of Gryffindor robes before they disappeared again.

"Quick! Follow me!" Edward commanded softly and ducked to the side of the cottage away from the main door. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle ran after him without complaint.

A minute later, Edward heard a knock on the door. He peeked around the side of the house to see that no one was there.

"Who is it?" Malfoy whispered, sounding a little petrified.

"Shh!" Edward hissed, staring at the door intently.

The door opened and Hagrid was whispering something into the air. Then, he stepped aside and closed the door behind him.

The window of Hagrid's cottage was open so Edward could get a good listen to what was going on inside the room.

"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" Granger voice came slow and hesitantly, as if afraid to bring the giant man over the edge.

"I- I took him outside," said Hagrid. There was a crash as something porcelain dropped onto the ground. "He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an'- an' smell fresh air –before-"

Crap. The Slytherins turned around slowly and suddenly saw themselves eye-to-eye with a hostile-looking chimera.

Malfoy whimpered and clutched his arm where the chimera had scored him. Goyle flopped onto the ground, stunned.

"He's tried," said Hagrid. "He's got no power ter overrule the Committee."

The chimera flapped its wings vigorously and both Crabbe and Goyle cowered under it simultaneously. Maintain eye contact, Edward told himself, remembering the first lesson.

"He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared... Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like... threatened 'em, I expect... an' the executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's... but it'll be quick an' clean... an' I'll be beside him... "

Malfoy averted his gaze and ducked behind Edward. Without making any sudden movements, Edward slowly stood up, all the while not blinking.

"Dumbledore's gonna come down while it – while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter - ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore..."

Edward bowed slowly, not breaking eye contact. A moment later, the chimera bowed back. Edward closed his eyes in relief. Tension eased out from his body when he realised the danger was gone.

The back door opened.

"Hagrid, we can't-"

"We'll tell them what really happened-"

"They can't kill him-"

"Go!" said Hagrid fiercely. "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

The chimera glanced at them and back at the Slytherins. It had bent its head, still waiting for Edward to mount it but there was no way Edward was going to ride that thing.

"We've got to move before they find us!" Edward snarled but Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were cowering violently still.

"MOVE!" Edward said and they scrambled to their feet. The chimera was watching them intently and Edward felt apprehensive. He clenched and unclenched his automail hand, ready to fight if needed.

The Slytherins stumbled into the Forbidden Forest and joined the party back in the courtyard.

"Got any chocolate? The kind that will soothe nerves," Edward asked Amy.

Before she could reply, Edward jerked his head at the three shivering figures behind him. Amy's mouth tightened into a thin line and she nodded curtly.

There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence, and then, without warning, the unmistakable

swish and thud of an axe.

Malfoy managed a small smile even though he was still quaking.

"Chocolate, then bed," Amy ordered, ignoring the outraged look on Malfoy's face. Edward suppressed a smile. They were in good hands. Which made Edward's hands free enough to investigate the swish of robes earlier.

Edward glanced around the area and spotted three Gryffindors standing on top of the hill. There was some sort of struggle there. One of them was wrestling with something small in his hands and was shouting loudly.

Edward sprinted up to them and recognised Harry, Weasley and Granger.

"He won't- stay- put-" Weasley was yelling at his friends.

There was a gray mouse in his hand and it was plainly terrified. It was writhing with all its might, trying to break free of Weasley's grip.

"What's the matter with it?" Edward called.

"Ron's rat gone wild!" Harry shouted. "Give us a hand!"

Then, Edward saw it. It was slinking toward them, its body low to the ground, wide yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness. It was also the ugliest cat Edward had ever seen in his life, though Al would probably call it the most adorable thing in the world.

"Crookshanks!" Granger shouted, trying to grab hold of the rat which was slipping out of Weasley's hand. "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

But the cat was getting nearer.

"Scabbers- NO!"

Too late. The rat had slipped between Weasley's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away. In one bound, the cat sprang after him. Weasley took off after the cat.

Harry, Edward and Granger exchanged looks before they dashed after Weasley as well.

"Get away from him- get away- Scabbers, come here!"

There was a loud thud.

"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat!"

Edward almost fell over Weasley. He skidded to a stop right in front of him. Granger and Harry joined him a heartbeat later. Weasley was sprawled on the ground, but the rat was back in his pocket. The Gryffindor had both hands held tight over the quivering lump and his hair was covered in mud.

"You got it!" Edward sighed with relief. The fat cat glared at Edward challengingly and Edward glared back.

"LOOK OUT!" Harry screamed. They heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws. Something was bounding toward them, quiet as a shadow- an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog.

"It's the chimera!" Edward growled.

"What's that?" Harry said, reaching for his wand. Too late. The chimera had made an enormous leap and the front paws hit Harry on the chest. It bared his teeth at Harry and Edward saw long, canines jutting out of its mouth.

"Get off him!" Edward snarled. He clapped his hands and slapped them to the ground. The earth beneath him shifted and a giant fist plucked the chimera from Harry's body.

It hardly hindered the beast. The chimera wriggled free easily and leapt down and dived straight into Edward. Edward moved to clap his hands together again but the chimera latched its jaw into Edward's flesh arm before he could do so.

Harry lunged forward and seized a handful of the chimera's hair, but it was dragging Edward away as easily as though he were a rag doll.

Edward gasped as the chimera's teeth sank into his flesh and he groaned in pain. He felt his body being dragged forward towards a tree and suddenly, the tree branches started whipping about everywhere.

Making use of the confusion, Edward swung his automail arm at the chimera's muzzle and the chimera let go of him instantly.

Instead, it lunged at Weasley and began dragging him into a large gap in the tree roots.


	28. Chapter 28

"We have to get down!" Granger yelled. Edward glanced upwards to see Harry and Granger in the air. They were supported by the branches of the weeping willow which had somehow come alive and was swishing the Gryffindors around.

Edward clapped and slammed his fist into the tree trunk. The wispy branches holding onto Harry and Granger broke and the Gryffindors crashed onto the ground.

"How did you-" Granger gasped but there was no time for Edward to listen.

Edward leapt nimbly aside, dodging a branch which was hurling through the air towards him. It was as if the tree was taking revenge on him. Every time he dodged, a new branch appeared and Edward had to duck before the tree could kill him.

His luck ran out on him. One of the tendrils caught hold of his leg. There was a rush of air and smell of pine as the tree lifted Edward into the air. And let go of him.

Edward dropped to the ground and saw that the fat cat had placed its front paws on a knot in the tree trunk.

The tree was deadly still.

"Crookshanks!" Granger whispered uncertainly. She now grasped Harry's arm hard. "How did he know?"

"He's friends with that dog," said Harry grimly. "I've seen them together. Come on and keep your wand out. You too, Ed."

"I didn't bring my wand," Edward said quietly but he followed them.

They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they had reached the gap in the roots, the fat cat had slid into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail. Edward went next. He crawled forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. The fat cat was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light.

"Where's Ron?" Granger whispered in a terrified voice.

"This way," said Edward, setting off, bent-backed after the cat.

"Where does this tunnel come out?" Granger asked breathlessly from behind him.

"I don't know..." Harry said. "It's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it. It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it was heading for Hogsmeade."

They moved as fast as they could. The Gryffindors had to bend more than Edward because of their height so they moved a little slower.

The cat's tail bobbed in and out of view. The passage went on. It felt at least as long as the one to Honeydukes. And then the tunnel began to rise. Moments later it twisted, and the cat had gone. Instead, Edward could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.

Harry and Granger raised their wands which was emitting an eerie green light to see.

It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls. There were stains all over the floor and every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.

Edward went first, pulling himself out of the hole, staring around. The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. Granger suddenly grabbed Harry's arm again. Her wide eyes were traveling around the boarded windows.

"Guys," she whispered, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."

Edward looked around. His eyes fell on a wooden chair near them. Large chunks had been torn out of it one of the legs had been ripped off entirely.

"Ghosts can't do that," Harry said slowly.

At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something was moving upstairs. The students looked up at the ceiling. Quietly as they could, they crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by something being dragged upstairs.

They reached the dark landing.

"Nox," Harry and Granger whispered together, and the lights at the end of their sticks went out. Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring.

Wand held tightly before him, Harry kicked the door wide open.

On a four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay the fat cat, purring loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Weasley.

Harry and Granger dashed across to him while Edward stayed behind, studying the room carefully for danger.

"Ron- are you okay?"

"Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," Weasley moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. "Harry, it's a trap-"

"What-"

"He's the dog... he's an Animagus."

Edward saw him before Weasley could point him out. A man in the shadows closed the door behind them. He was a mass of filthy, matted hair which hung to his elbows. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. Sirius Black.

"Expelliarmus!" Black croaked, pointing Weasley's wand at them.

Harry's and Granger's wands shot out of their hands and Black caught them.

"You don't have a wand," Black said to Edward, a slow curious smile ghosting his lips.

"You don't need to have one either," Edward retorted, glaring at him. This was Malfoy's relative! The Death Eater relative.

Black laughed harshly. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Harry.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful. It will make everything much

easier. Now that all of you are harmless…"

The taunt about his father made Harry stiffen. Edward saw him grit his teeth in frustration. Harry snatched at the air near his pocket where he kept his wand. His eyes were murderous.

Edward remembered that look. Winry wore that look when she first knew Scar killed her parents. She wore that look when she looked at Scar. She wore that look when she pointed the Magnum at Scar.

Harry started moving forward and Edward leapt to hold him back but his friends were faster. Granger snatched his arm and pulled him back. Weasley merely held on weakly to his leg from his foetal position on the ground.

"No, Harry!" Granger gasped in a petrified whisper.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" Weasley said fiercely.

Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes.

"Lie down," he said quietly to Weasley. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Weasley said painfully. "You'll have to kill all four of us!"

"You know what?" Edward said mildly, watching Weasley's face drain of colour from the pain. "I'd like to be not included to the to-kill list."

Granger opened her mouth to retort but Edward clapped his hands with a resounding smack of metal against flesh.

"And you know what?" Edward shouted, interrupting whatever Harry was about to say. "We're not harmless."

"And you know what else?" Edward roared, slapping the wooden floor. The ground heaved and groaned as it transformed. "I don't need a wand!"


	29. Chapter 29

The wooden ground lurched and the area around Black turned into sawdust. Black plummeted downwards into the opening below.

"We have to go!" Edward commanded but Harry was looking furiously at where Black had disappeared.

"Harry!" Edward shouted, trying to snap the boy back into attention. Harry whirled on him, eyes blazing. "You need to go before Black comes-"

"Comes back?" A whimsical voice said from the doorway. Black was leaning against the door frame, above the open hole. Then, Edward realised he was levitating himself.

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Brack, and his grin widened.

"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Weasley's and Granger's grips. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew... What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Harry!" Granger whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared, and with a huge effort he broke free their restraint and lunged forward.

Granger was screaming; Weasley was yelling; there was a blinding flash as the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that missed Harry's face by inches. Harry was punching Black wildly and uncontrollably. Punches that were haphazardly aimed and would not even bruise a child.

Edward ignored the protests of the two Gryffindors behind him and charged towards Black.

Black's free hand had found Harry's throat.

"No," the haggard man hissed, "I've waited too long."

Edward swung his foot at Black's head, knocking the wind out of him. Black grunted and let go of Harry. Granger seized the hocus pocus stick from his hand.

Black tried to retaliate by aiming a swipe at Edward who blocked it with his automail arm. Edward twisted the convict's arm behind his back and Black let out a hiss of outrage.

"Argh!"

Edward turned around to see that the fat cat had joined the fray. Both sets of front claws had sunk

themselves deep into Harry's arm. Harry threw him off, but the fat cat was darting toward Harry's hocus pocus stick.

"NO YOU DON'T!" roared Harry, and he aimed a kick at the cat that made the cat leap aside, spitting. He snatched up his wand.

In the confusion, Edward let his guard slip and Black wrapped a skinny arm around his throat.

"Get out of the way!" Harry shouted at Edward who raised an eyebrow and pointed at the chokehold. He was trying his best not to gag. That would look uncool.

Harry pointed the stick in between Black's eyes.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" Black whispered.

"You killed my parents," said Harry, his voice shaking slightly, but his hand was quite steady. Edward was thankful for that. He did not know want to know what would happen if Harry shot him by mistake.

"I don't deny it," Black said very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story..."

"The whole story?" Harry repeated. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't... You don't understand..."

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, and his voice shook more than ever. "You never heard her, did you? My mum... trying to stop Voldemort killing me... and you did that... you did it..."

Before either of them could say another word, something ginger clambered up Edward's face. It was the fat cat. It settled himself on Black's head.

"Get off," he murmured, trying shake the fat cat off him.

Harry stared down at Black and the cat, his grip tightening on the stick.

Edward thought Harry was really going to kill both Black and the cat at the same time.

Harry raised the wand and Edward closed his eyes, hoping that Harry would miss him.

And then came a new sound. Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor- someone was

moving downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Granger screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE – SIRIUS BLACK - QUICK!"

Black made a startled movement and Edward's eyes flew open. He grabbed the hand that was choking him and yanked it away with all his strength. The footsteps were thundering up the stairs.

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Edward wheeled around as Lupin came hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his stick raised and ready. His eyes flickered over Edward, gasping for breath, over Weasley, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, to Harry, standing there with his wand covering Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted.

Harry's wand flew once more out of his hand so did the two Hermione was holding. Lupin caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Black, who still had the fat cat lying protectively on his head. It looked kind of funny if everyone was not about to kill one another.

Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice.

"Where is he, Sirius?"

Edward looked quickly at Lupin. There was some familiarity in the way Lupin talked to Black. As if they were long lost brothers.

Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he did not move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Weasley. Weasley looked dumbfounded.

"But then..." Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless-" Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, "-unless he was the one... unless you switched... without telling me?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded.

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on?"

Lupin lowered his stick, walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that the cat fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed.

Lupin let go of Black and turned to her. She had raised herself off the floor and was pointing at Lupin, wild-eyed. "You - you -"

"Hermione -"

"- you and him!"

"Hermione, calm down -"

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked. "I've been covering up for you -"

"Hermione, listen to me, please'" Lupin shouted. "I can explain -"

Harry could feel himself shaking, not with fear, but with a fresh wave of fury.

"I trusted you," he shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering, out of control, "and all the time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now- Let me explain!"

"NO!" Granger screamed. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too- he's a werewolf!"

"A what?" Edward asked but no one was listening to him.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," Lupin said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead. An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

"What's that?" Edward asked Weasley who looked frightened and did not acknowledge him.

"How long have you known?" Lupin said quietly.

"Ages," Granger whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay..."

"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant... Did you check the lunar chart and realise that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realise that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," Granger said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh. "You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

"I'm not," Granger whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf." Weasley gasped. "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so," said Lupin. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy-"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOUVE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!"

"I have not been helping Sirius," said Lupin. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look-"

He tossed the wands back to the Gryffindors.

"There," said Lupin, sticking his own wand back into his belt "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

"If you haven't been helping him," Edward said, with a glance at Black, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map."

"It was in my room!" Edward protested.

"What?" Harry said. "No wonder the map I have didn't work!"

"Quiet, Harry!" Edward hissed. "How did you know the map-"

"Was with you? I didn't. Crabbe did."


	30. Chapter 30

"Come again?" Edward said, not believing what he was hearing.

"I caught Crabbe in the hallways the previous night with it. Apparently, he was looking through your drawers for the cotton candy wrench you bought from Hogsmeade but refused to share with him. He found this instead." Lupin held up the map. "He wasn't happy when I took it from him. He was searching for the secret passage into the kitchen."

"You know how to work it?" Harry said suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony- that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?"

"You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry-"

"How d'you know about the cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it...," said Lupin. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"What?" said Harry. "No, we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, pacing, and ignoring Harry's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you? And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labelled Sirius Black... I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you

into the Whomping Willow-"

"He didn't pull me in," Edward said. "I got free the last minute."

"No, Edward," said Lupin. "It was someone else."

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly.

"What?" said Weasley. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything," said Lupin. "Could I see him, please?"

Weasley hesitated then took out the balding rat.

Lupin moved closer to Weasley. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at the rat.

"What?" Weasley said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Black suddenly.

"What d'you mean? Of course he's a rat!"

"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

"What's that?" Edward said, at the same time Weasley cried out,

"You're both mental."

"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" said Harry, stabbing his wand at Black's direction. "He killed him twelve years ago!"

"I meant to," Black growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me... not this time, though!"

Black made a feral sound and Edward's muscles tensed automatically. Just as the criminal lunged himself at Weasley, Edward intercepted him quickly and restrained him with his automail arm. If he wanted to act like an animal, Edward was going to treat him like one.

"Back off!" Edward growled, jabbing his arm into the man's protruding ribs. Black hissed in pain.

"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled. "WAIT! You can't do it just like that- they need to understand. We've got to explain."

"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw Edward off. His dirty fingers were clawing at the air towards Weasley, trying to snatch the screeching rat in his hands.

"They've got a right to know -everything!" Lupin shouted. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand, and Harry- you owe Harry the

truth, Sirius!"

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on the rat.

"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. Edward pushed him viciously away and he crumpled onto the ground.

"Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for..."

"You're nutters, both of you," said Weasley shakily, looking round at Harry and Granger for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off."

He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised his wand again, pointing it at Scabbers. Edward prepared to use alchemy but stopped himself. Lupin did not know about his alchemy yet. He could use it as an advantage when the time came.

"You're going to hear me out, Ron," he said quietly. "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Weasley yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but the rat was fighting to hard. Edward moved quietly and slowly to the wall. There was a long metal pole that had broken off from the ceiling and the ends were jagged and sharp where they tore off.

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," Granger said. "A whole street full of them..."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Black savagely.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself- until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's map never lies... Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

The story was so stupid. They were just buying time. Edward inched closer to the wall. He was so close to Black now that he could smell him.

Then Granger spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Lupin to talk sensibly.

"But Professor Lupin... Scabbers can't be Pettigrew... it just can't be true, you know it can't..."

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly.

"Because... because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework- the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things... and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list."

Lupin started to laugh hollowly and Edward froze momentarily, wondering if he had been caught.

"Right again, Hermione!" he said. "But the Ministry never knew that here used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," said Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."

"All right... but you'll need to help me, Sirius," said Lupin, I only know how it began..."

The bedroom swung open with a screech of protest. Eveoryne turned to stare at it. Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing.

"No one there..."

"This place is haunted!" said Weasley, trembling. Edward scoffed but he did not say anything and kept his eyes on the bedroom.

"It's not," said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted... The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me."

Lupin pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment then said, "That's where all of This starts with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten... and if I hadn't been so stupid..."

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week, preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform... I'm able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.

"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully-fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me.

"But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school." Lupin paused, and looked directly at Harry.

"I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house" Lupin looked miserably around the room, "the tunnel that leads to it- they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."

Edward took the chance of everyone being preoccupied with Lupin's story to move towards the wall and grab the metal pole. Inwardly, he cursed Mustang for ever making him come down to this hocus pocus place.

Before Edward could make a move towards Lupin and Black, he felt a hand underneath some kind of smooth cloth clap over his mouth. And a silent, hardly audible whisper in his ear.

"Impedimenta."


	31. Chapter 31

Review pleaseeeee ;D

Nobody had noticed that Edward had completely frozen up against the wall. They were all looking at Lupin in rapture.

Panic rose in Edward as he tried to break free of his invisible bonds but his body had gone to sleep.

"My transformations in those days were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumour... Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it..."

The invisible hand moved away from Edward's mouth and Edward heard soft footsteps shuffling away. He tried to move, to scream a warning to the people in the room that this place was really haunted. Edward refused to admit it but he could have been a little afraid. It was different fighting an invisible enemy. You could not see their next moves, predict where they would punch you or when they would slice your throat.

"But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black... Peter Pettigrew... and, of course, your father, Harry- James Potter."

"Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her... I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth..."

"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

"My dad too?" said Harry, astounded.

Edward could hear the footsteps moving quietly towards the hocus pocus people in the room but no one seemed to hear it. What was wrong with them? Were they deaf?

"Yes, indeed," said Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong- one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."

"But how did that help you?" said Granger, sounding puzzled.

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals," said Lupin. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed... Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

Edward tried to move his fingers, to get some feeling back into them and was surprised when he could begin to feel a slight coldness from the metal pole he was holding through his gloves.

"Hurry up, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face.

"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there... well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did... And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

"What sort of animal-?" Harry began, but Granger cut him off.

"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless- carried away with our own cleverness."

Edward stopped trying to move his fingers as Lupin said that. He felt a sudden heaviness in his heart.

"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course... he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students

into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed..."

Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me... and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been

shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it... so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers; for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"

"He's teaching here, Sirius," said Lupin heavily. "He's teaching here as well."

He looked up at Harry, Weasley, and Granger.

"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore A year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons... you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me-"

Black made a derisive noise.

"It served him right," he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to... hoping he could get us expelled..."

"Severus was very interested in where I went every month." Lupin continued. "We were in the same year, you know, and we didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field... anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be- er- amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it- if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf- but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life... Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was..."

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin. Edward tried to turn his head to look at the sound but he could not move still. From the corner of his eye, however, he could not see anything.

There was a ripple in the air and the air unfolded to reveal Snap, his stick pointing directly at Lupin.

Granger screamed so shrilly Edward's ear rang. Black leapt to his feet. Harry looked as though he had received a huge electric shock.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing a translucent cape aside.

"Very useful, Potter, I thank you..."

Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did... lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus-" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout-"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything- I can explain- Sirius is not here to kill Harry."

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. Then, he turned to point the stick at Edward. "Plus one more. I knew from the start you were not to be trusted, Elric. Refusing to use magic, creeping around Malfoy suspiciously and here you are, right in the company of Sirius Black. How convenient."


	32. Chapter 32

"Severus..." Lupin tried again and Snape pointed the wand back at him.

"I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this... He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin... a tame werewolf."

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

Snap sliced the stick through the air and there was a loud popping noise. Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's stick and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles. Lupin overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.

Granger took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape- it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w - would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."

"But if- if there was a mistake-"

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face. Granger fell silent.

"And just as an added precaution," Snape said with a sneer. He slashed his stick through the air again and this time, the ropes shot straight at Edward and started to encase him. Edward winced internally as the ropes sliced through his clothes and gripped him like a vice. He fell to the ground and whatever feeling he had regained initially was lost again. "That will keep you out of my hair for once."

Edward wanted to add that with Snape's greasy hair, it was very easy to keep anyone from it but he could not speak or move.

"Hey Edward! Are you ok?" Weasley shouted and tried to crawl towards Edward but Snape stopped him with a glare.

"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you..."

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" he jerked his head at Ron. "I'll come quietly..."

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black... pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay... I-"

"You -you've got to hear me out," Black croaked. "The rat- look at the rat."

But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes. He was beyond reason.

"Come on, all of you," Snape said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin and Edward both flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf and the boy. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for them too-"

Edward felt a sharp tug and soon he was being dragged across the floor like a ragdoll.

There were three dull thuds against the wooden panels as Harry crossed the room and blocked the door.

"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin-"

"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry shouted. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape. "Get out of the way, Potter."

"YOURE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "AND YOU THINK EDWARD IS A MURDEROUS KILLER TOO? JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN-"

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black- now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"

Before Snape could take even one step toward him, Harry had raised his wand. But there was not one voice but three that shouted in unison.

"Expelliarmus!"

There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.

From his position on the ground, Edward saw Snape's wand soar in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Black, looking at Harry.

"You should have left him to me..."

"We attacked a teacher... We attacked a teacher..." Granger whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble-"

Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him. He untied Edward and cocked his head when Edward did not respond.

"Impedimenta," Black said with understanding. He took out his stick and tapped it on Edward's head.

Edward gasped in cool, cleansing air. He felt like he just emerged from cold icy water.

"Thanks!" Edward said, between gasps.

"Thank you, Harry," Lupin said.

"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry told Lupin.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Lupin. "You, boy. Give me Peter, please. Now."

Weasley clutched the rat closer to his chest.

"Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean..." He looked up at Harry and Granger for support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat- there are millions of rats- how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"

Black put one of his clawlike hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.

It was the photograph of Weasley and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was the rat.

"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.

"Fudge," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder... I knew him at once... how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts... to where Harry was..."

"My gosh," said Lupin softly, staring from the rat to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw..."

"What about it?" said Edward.

"He's got a toe missing," said Black.

"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple... so brilliant... he cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."

"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right-"

"Twelve years, in fact," said Lupin. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We- we've been taking good care of him!" said Weasley.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again..."

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Weasley, nodding toward the fat cat, who was still purring on the bed.

"This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked the cat's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognised Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me... Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me..."

"What do you mean?" breathed Granger at the same time Edward said,

"You can talk to cats? COOL!"

"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't... so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me... As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table..."

"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it." croaked Black. "This cat- Crookshanks, did you call him?- told me Peter had left blood on the sheets... I supposed he bit himself... Well, faking his own death had worked once."

"And why did he fake his death?" Harry said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," said Lupin, "Harry-"

"And now you've come to finish him off!"

"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at the rat.

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.

"Harry," said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down- but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father- Sirius tracked Peter down-"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"


	33. Chapter 33

Harry was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly over bright.

"Harry... I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me... I'm to blame, I know it... The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies... I realized what Peter must've done... what I'd done..."

His voice broke. He turned away.

"Enough of this," said Lupin. "I'm going to force him to show himself."

Weasley hesitated. Then, he held out the rat and Lupin took him. The rat began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.

"Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin.

Edward edged away from them rapidly to get out of the way of whatever was in store for the rat.

"Together." Black said quietly.

There was a blinding flash of blue-white light and Edward was temporarily blinded for a moment. He saw the rat frozen in midair and suddenly, it fell and hit the floor.

Then it grew. It was disturbing. Seeing something so tiny sprouting into something huge. It was like how Envy turned into that _thing_.

But unlike Envy, this was turning into a human. Limbs were elongating and thickening rapidly. The colour drained from grey to a more peach colour. By the time the transformation completed, Edward could not see much difference.

The man was a rat. His beady eyes darted around the room nervously to Edward, to Weasley, to Harry, to Black, to Harry and back to Black again. His body trembled and he was biting his fingernails with his humongous buck teeth. One of his fingers were missing.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Black, standing up and grinning like a madman once again.

"S- Sirius... R- Remus..." Pettigrew squeaked. His tiny eyes flew from Black to the doorway of the room. "My friends... my old friends..."

Black's face turned purple and he raised the stick. He was trembling as badly as Pettigrew but his was out of rage.

"Do you remember about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed."

"Remus, you don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus..."

"So we've heard," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter."

"He's going to kill me again! You have to help me Remus! He's going to kill me! Like Lily and James! Death Eater! Kill!" Pettigrew squeaked, becoming more and more incoherent by the second.

"I knew he'd come after me! Azkaban! I knew! Twelve years!"

"You mean you knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" said Granger. "It's impossible!"

"He's got dark powers! Evil!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "He must have learnt from his master!"

"Voldemort as my master?" Black said laughing. "Please! He couldn't tell me to sit even with all the doggy treats in the world."

Pettigrew made a strange whimpering noise and Black leant in, sneering at him.

"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Black. I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter-"

Pettigrew whirled at Lupin, his eyes blazing with madness. "You don't believe this, do you Remus?"

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly.

"If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban- Sirius Black!"

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan... a bluff... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you... It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."

Pettigrew made another strange whimper and Black ignored him. He turned to face Harry and though he still looked like an untamed beast, his eyes collapsed into softness.

"Believe me," croaked Black. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

Harry looked too choked to speak and he simply nodded.

"NO!"

The single word was so infused with despair that Edward felt a tug of pity for the rat.

"Sirius- it's me... it's Peter... your friend-"

Black kicked out at the filthy mass of robes that was grovelling at his feet.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, crawling across the floor towards Lupin but Lupin silenced him with a stick to the face.

"Shall we kill him together?" Black said.

"You wouldn't... you won't...," gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Weasley and Granger muttering about being a good pet.

They edged away from him, sporting matching looks of horror. He changed targets at once.

"Harry... Harry... you look just like your father... just like him... Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed. He would have shown me mercy..."

Both Black and Lupin seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him away from Harry.

Which made Pettigrew chose his next target.

"Little boy, clever boy, you know all this is wrong..."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE?" Edward bellowed, grabbing a fallen wooden beam and swinging it into Pettigrew's face.

There was a horrible crunching noise and Pettigrew crumpled into the dusty floor.

"Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to be this rough," Edward said, without an ounce of remorse.

"You should have realized," said Lupin quietly to the unconscious lump, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front Pettigrew, facing the sticks. "You can't kill him!"

Black and Lupin glanced at each other.

"My dad wouldn't have wanted you both to become killers!" Harry said breathlessly, "You can't do this to yourselves! He can go to Azkaban!"

There was a pregnant pause and Black nodded.

"Very well," said Lupin. "Stand aside, Harry."

Harry hesitated.

"I'm going to tie him up," said Lupin. "That's all, I swear."

Harry stepped out of the way. Thin cords shot from Lupin's stick. Edward found himself rubbing the same spots Snape had used the cords on him.

"What about Professor Snape?" said Granger in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.

"Can we put him in Honeyduke's mummy collection after coating him in honey?" Edward suggested, grinning. Black gave him an I-want-to-high-five-you look.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Lupin, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "Perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safety back in the castle. We can take him like this..."

He muttered, "Mobilicorpus." Snape was pulled into a standing position and he hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling.

"And two of us should be chained to this," said Black, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."

"I'll do it," said Lupin.

"And me," Edward volunteered.

Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm to Edward's left automail arm.

Together, the group shuffled out of the old shack.

Okay, now with the explanations all aside, the story finally begins! Since I didn't upload last Wednesday, I'll be uploading really soon again.


	34. Chapter 34

Edward regretted his decision instantly. Walking down with a quivering Pettigrew and a lanky Professor, both who were taller than him was not comfortable.

Edward was walking ungainly, tripping over the steps and pulling Pettigrew and Lupin after him like ragdolls.

Or rather, they were the ones pulling him like a ragdoll. Edward winced as the sudden tug of the chains caused him to sprawl face-first onto the ground in an ungainly fashion.

Harry was walking ahead with Black and his face lit up with something that Black had said. Harry nodded and Black's face broke into a true smile, not the maniacal one Edward had seen before.

When they finally broke out of the tunnel and were back on the school grounds, Edward was about to transmute the chains around both Lupin and Pettigrew.

Lupin moved his wand so that Snape was now hovering further away from the group to give themselves more space to move. He was muttering some kind of spell under his breath when suddenly, his grip on the stick tightened.

Edward looked at him in surprise as Lupin's eyes bulged and his whole body was trembling even harder than Pettigrew's.

"He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!" Granger yelled.

"Not safe?" Edward yelled back. What did she mean? He was still chained to the professor and Edward felt like he was holding a timed bomb.

"RUN!" Black shouted.

Harry hesitated and looked at Edward but Black shouted again and the three Gryffindors sprinted off into the forest with Ron hobbling after them, dragging his broken leg behind.

There was a low growl and Edward saw Lupin's head elongate and his body growing thick, coarse fur. The creature swelled up in size and a terrible stink hit Edward's nostrils. That was right before Edward found himself covered in a sticky goop of saliva.

The thing was reminiscent of a wolf, a freakishly huge one which could stand on its hind legs. And possessed the same mobility capabilities of a hunchbacked human.

Still, Edward was surprised when the creature reared back, raised its front paw and swung it at him.

Edward dropped to the floor.

"Since when do wolfs have ball and socket joints in the shoulder!" Edward hissed, clapping his hands and pressing it to the ground.

The earth moaned and tall spikes flashed up from the ground to impale the thing.

"Careful!" Black shouted. "He's still Remus!"

"Well, you do something!" Edward roared back. "I'm not letting him eat my brains!"

"He's not a zombie, you idiot!" Black yelled and he morphed into a black Labrador.

Edward blinked. That was unexpected.

The dog barked loudly and Edward shook his head to clear his confusion. He leapt to his feet and jumped back into the fray.

The dog was nipping at the thing's flank so Edward took it on head-on. He bunched his muscles and vaulted himself into the air. Edward pulled his arm up into the air and brought it down onto the creature's muzzle with a satisfying crunch.

It did not faze the thing one bit. The creature howled in annoyance and snapped at Edward. Its jaw closed around Edward's automail arm.

"Having a good bite?" Edward snarled.

That was when all the abuse from the Quidditch tournament after being hit by a bludger, all the ramming of his arm into things and people's faces culminated in the armour plate cracking.

"Oh crap, you did have a good bite," Edward muttered as the plate cracked and the teeth sunk into the wire connections.

It was being set fire to. Edward screamed as thousands of nerves sent pain signals to his brain. The thing did not bite down fully so the nerve connections were not totally lost. Which made it worse. There was no respite from the pain.

Edward did not feel the teeth release him. Neither did he feel the ground under him until he regained his senses a while later and saw Black offering him a hand.

"We have to go, quick." Black hissed. There was panic and urgency in his voice.

"Where?" Edward asked groggily.

"He's gone. They scared him away."

"They?" Edward asked stupidly again even though he knew who they were. He could feel their presence already.

He scrambled awkwardly to his feet and tried not to wobble. The coldness was not helping, making his stomach churn. The purple lights were flickering into life all around him.

"Let's go," Edward said, gritting his teeth and moving towards the lake away from the source of the coldness.

Black had a large gash on his shoulder and he winced as he tried to move as fast as Edward. Edward had a brief selfish moment where he refused to slow down and move away from them as far away as he could. There was no way he was going to see his mistake as real as life again.

There was also no way he was going to make another stupid mistake. Edward slung Black's arm over his shoulder and despite his nerves screeching at him, Edward pulled the both of them across the damp ground.

They seemed to be making no progress at all. The lake seemed to stretch further and further away and the coldness crept closer in a quiet but swift manner.

"COME ON!" Edward shouted in frustration as he felt his limbs grow heavy. Black seemed to have turned into iron in the past few seconds and Edward sagged into the ground. He was kneeling on one knee, head bowed in bone-deep fatigue and coldness.

"Move, Ed," Edward chanted to himself. But he sounded weak and feeble and he wanted to close his eyes.

The purple lights flared up around him and then Black was not around his shoulder anymore.

"Illusion, illusion," Edward chanted. He groped around in his robes for his stick. He needed to think happy. Think of Al. _Remember how Al had smuggled a burger and a warm cup of coffee for you at Youswell when the villagers chased you out._ Edward smiled weakly at the memory. He had been starving but it was not the food but the companionship of his brother that made him feel comfortable to sleep outdoors.

The stick. It was not in his robes. Edward had left them in his drawer.

The night at Youswell. It was cold.

The purple lights flared even brighter and ice crawled down Edward's arms. He swore that he could feel his automail arm freeze.

"Expecto patronum," Edward muttered, but his lips would not move. Not that it mattered anyway.

Edward expected the thing he had created years ago to rise up from the ground but nothing came up this time.

He was so cold.

A wispy figure was floating into his field of vision and Edward made a pathetic sound of protest as scaly hands grabbed his chin. It felt like rubbing a cold, raw fish over his face.

The hands moved away and Edward slumped into the sodden earth. The hood was pulled back. It looked like someone had put a piece of rotting meat into the mixer and the result was passed off for a face.

The skin was scabbed, loose and the face looked as if a sculptor had smashed his statue halfway during the creation. Edward was really cold. But he could not give up now. He had to think of Al. Al who was there for him, Al who was waiting for him to go back home. He had to think of Winry. He had to let Winry kill him for destroying the automail, not this thing.

Edward growled and was surprised that he sounded like a wild animal. He pushed the dementor away from him.

The dementor moved backwards gracefully. Edward shook his head violently and clapped his hands.

"Did anyone tell you that makeup can bring out your best features?" Edward said, spreading his hands open into the air. He had been practicing this new trick since the Quidditch match.

"Well, you don't seem to have any!"

The wind built up around him and the air condensed at one point. It flashed towards the dementor like a sharp blade.

Without seeing his handiwork, Edward clapped his hands again and slapped them into the ground, drawing an iron lance from the ground. He was near the lake, which was full of minerals, so he integrated chromium into the blade to increase hardenability and nickel to make it tougher.

The purple lights danced and shimmered along the lance's blade.

The dementor had barely been able to dodge the wind blade and part of its cloak was shredded to expose more rotting meat.

Edward pointed his lance forward, ignoring the stiffness in his joints from the cold.

There was a tense pause where both Edward and the thing did not move. Then, as if on cue, they both pounced towards the other with the intent to destroy.


	35. Chapter 35

Jabbing the lance in the dementor's midriff was not a good idea. It did not even stop it. In fact, it only riled the thing more. The dementor ignored the presence of a very chemically stable alloy lance in its stomach and approached Edward, causing the lance to sink deeper until it protruded out of the dementor's back with a squelch.

Edward's eyes widened as the scaly fingers caressed his chin lazily. They tightened their grip and Edward was on the ground again. The fingers were lifting his chin upwards. He could feel a third hand- was there more than one dementor?- parting his lips open.

Chapped lips latched over his.

Oh no, this was not how his first kiss was going to be.

Edward felt a strange tugging sensation from the back of his throat and felt himself lean into the dementor's mouth.

Then for the first time ever, he heard his brother in his vision.

"ED!" Al screamed. It was a sound so primal Edward felt as if someone had physically slapped him in his face. He never forgot that voice. The voice that screamed at him for help as his brother's body and soul was taken away by the gate.

"AL!"

Then nothing.

The pounding inside his head would not stop. Edward groaned as he held his automail palm against his head to ease the pain. Sometimes, automail do come in handy, especially when you really need an ice pack.

"Ow ow ow!" Edward hissed as he tried to sit up and another wave of blows struck him inside his head.

"Hey, boy!"

Edward turned his head carefully and saw Black beside him. Black helped him to sit up.

They were no longer outside next to the lake. The room was dark, smelly and cramped with reinforced windows and a steel door. Either someone had moved them from the lake or Edward was inside the dementor's stomach. Edward hoped it was not the latter.

"They brought us into the castle," Black whispered. His face was gaunt and his eyes were wild. Black's fingers were trembling violently and he kept grasping at something in the air. His frail frame quaked with madness.

"Why?"

"THE KISS!" Black snarled and Edward flinched. However, Black did not seem to notice. His mouth was foaming.

"What?" Edward said, outraged. "But we're both innocent! Pettigrew-"

"Snape told them! Said I used the Confundus Charm. Fudge was there. He thinks you're involved too. There's going to be an inquisition. Then the Kiss."

"We've got to go!" Edward said.

"No where! No where to go!"

"Snap out of it!" Edward growled, looking over his shoulder at the steel door. He was half expecting the dementors to break in immediately. Black was still muttering incoherently. With a grunt of frustration, Edward hit Black with his right hand. Flesh connected with flesh with a resounding slap.

Black stopped shivering and his eyes cleared a little.

"Ok, we have to get out of here. Can you change to a dog? I'm going to get us out of here and it will raise suspicion if a tall dark man followed me around."

"Can't. Too weak." Black gasped. His grimy hands rubbed his cheek ruefully where Edward had hit him.

"Great," Edward muttered. "We have to get out of here fast before the dementors come in. Now, follow me."

Black's eyes unfocussed when Edward mentioned the dementors, but he nodded determinedly.

Edward stood up slowly, ignoring the incessant screaming in his head. He moved to the window and clapped his hands.

The steel door groaned open and at once, the room was filled with purple lights and the air turned frosty.

Edward lost his balance and his legs buckled under him.

Fudge entered the room, accompanied by two dementors. He looked unsettled standing next to them but there was a silver seal close to him, warding the dementors away. The green bowler hat on top of his head took on an ominous shade of purple.

Fudge moved straight towards Edward and the dementors followed close behind. Black moved as far away from the dementors as he could until he was pressed up against the wall.

"Edward Elric," Fudge whispered, his voice dangerously low. "You came to this school in the third year, with no evidence of magical training. Our records show that your parents are not one of us. They were muggles. So why did you appear out of nowhere just when Black escaped from Azkaban? Why did you enroll in the very school Black wanted to infiltrate to kill Harry Potter? What were you doing in the shack with that criminal?"

"I can explain," Edward said. His voice sounded weak. The purple lights were disorientating him.

"Do tell," Fudge said.

"I'm not one of you people. I was hired by Lucius Malfoy to guard his son. I came to this school as an undercover agent. Black and Malfoy are related by blood. Malfoy must have betrayed Black. He must have told everyone that Black was one of Moldewart's strongest supporters and the killer of Harry's parents. It wasn't him. It was Peter Pettigrew! That's why Black is after Draco. And that's why I'm here to protect-"

"Enough!" Fudge roared. Edward stopped talking. "What sort of hogwash is this? Do you even understand what you are saying?"

"You have to believe me! Give a call to Lucius Malfoy. He will tell you the truth!"

"You do understand that if everything you told me is a lie, you would be sentenced to the dementor's Kiss, do you?"

"Just call him, old man!" Edward snarled when the purple lights were starting to blind him.

Fudge's face contorted momentarily with rage but he took a deep breath and his expression cleared. He waved his stick and ripped an opening in the air. Green baubles of light drifted out of the opening and they condensed, forming Lucius Malfoy's elongated face.

Malfoy's expression was severe. His elegant eyebrows narrowed as he met Edward's eyes.

"Lucius," Fudge addressed the green face and the face turned to glance appraisingly at the minister. "I was just told by this young man who calls himself Edward Elric. He claims that you hired him to protect your son against Black. Lucius, is this true?"

Malfoy turned his piercing gaze towards Edward. Edward felt his heart sink at the scathing look and braced himself for the blow.

"Of course not. Hogwash."


	36. Chapter 36

"But it's true!" Edward shouted, swinging a fist at the green baubles but Fudge was not listening. He was reciting a string of words which sounded like his rights.

Fudge's eyes were darting around and he waved a frantic hand at the dementors then at Edward and Black. His words were coming on in a garbled mess and it sounded almost demonic.

When Fudge finished speaking, the green head of Lucius Malfoy smirked and the dementors pounced onto the ragged duo.

"Not happening again!" Edward hissed. He grabbed Black by the scruff of his shirt and ignoring his shout of protest, Edward flung him against the dungeon walls.

"C'mon! We're getting out of here!" Edward said, clapping his hands and trying to stave off the coldness from the oncoming dementors.

"You fool! You don't have wands!"

Edward slammed his hands against the floor and the stone crumbled to form a slide down the tower.

Fudge's face was something to remember by. His mouth dropped and he was struggling for words. In his shock, his patronus had disappeared. Even the green head of Lucius Malfoy raised its eyebrows.

"I should do this more often," Edward muttered and jumped onto the slide, still dragging Black after him.

He underestimated the height of the tower.

"HAVE YOU ANY IDEA HOW FAST WE ARE GOING?" Black yelled as they were almost flung off from the slide again from sheer speed. They were only saved by Edward's iron grip on the side of the makeshift slide. Edward could already feel his automail hand thinning as it scraped through stone at incredible velocity. Winry was so going to kill him when he returned.

"They're still coming!" Edward roared back. He could feel the dementor's cold presence inching closer. The purple lights were flaring all around him and Edward shook his head vigorously.

"Hey Black! Trust me ok!" Edward said.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK-"

Edward flung Black off the slide. It was not difficult despite Black being a grown adult. The momentum of their descent helped a lot.

With a yell, Edward clapped his hands and pressed them against the slide. He almost got thrown off himself in doing so.

A wall rose up from the top of the slide and encircled the two dementors, trapping them in a dome of stone. The purple lights faded as Edward slid down the last few metres on the slide.

"Hey! How's it doing?" Edward said nonchalantly at Black who was hanging above him. A long stone spike had shot up from the slide and impaled Black's coat, leaving him hanging helplessly in the air.

"What on earth were you trying to do?" Black yelled as he squirmed to get a better purchase on the spike.

His coat ripped and he plummeted down. Edward clapped and a hand rose from the ground to soften the landing.

"WERE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" Black said, gingerly getting down from the enormous hand.

"Oh come off it, it was only a little fall." Edward said.

Black opened his mouth to say something but he closed them again. His eyes darkened. Edward narrowed his eyes in response.

"Where are Harry and his friends?"

"Oh crap. I think we left them behind." Edward said. "We have to get back before the dementors-"

Black shook his head. "No, I don't think they're in danger of the Kiss. Harry's too famous and they are all still under-aged. Well, you weren't considered a wizard though. They probably thought you were a spy for Voldemort." Black nodded at Edward's enraged look.

"And you trust me?" Edward challenged.

"Oh of course not. But I'm not stupid to try to escape by myself. Enemy of my enemy, you know?"

Edward sighed and kicked at a rock on the ground. It clunked back onto the ground with a thud.

"We have to get moving soon. Before they find us," Edward said briskly. "We'll start by going back to the shack. It's the safest place for now. Then we'll see what we can do for Harry and the others."

Black nodded and together, they made their way back to the shack in silence. As they neared the tree, a cold familiar chill befell on them.

Edward tensed, ready to form a protective dome around them when Black pushed him violently to the ground.

"Hey!" Edward protested and looked up just in time to see Black raise a foot and kicked him square under his chin.

The blow threw the breath out of Edward and his head darkened for a moment. Bright white lights sparkled under his eyelids. Whether it was due to his disorientation or not, Edward felt himself fall and the branches of the tree swirling in manic frenzy.

He shook his head abruptly, trying not to pass out. He was in the hole that led to the shack. Blinking rapidly, Edward crawled towards the hole and peeped out.

The dementors were there. He could not tell how many there were but two of them were holding onto Black who was completely unconscious. They were dragging him back to the castle in languid movements.

One of them stopped and turned to look at the tree. Edward held his breath. The dementor drifted slowly to him. Edward shifted away from the line of vision. A scabbed hand reached into the hole. Up close, the hand had the texture of a burned tree bark. The skeletal arm snatched at the air, reaching out to where Edward was hiding.

Edward clapped and mount of earth snapped up, pinning the arm to the ceiling of the hole. The arm made furious grabbing motions at Edward but Edward clapped again and ran through the tunnel he created back to the castle.

Edward needed to get the principal's office fast. The old geezer was probably the only one who could stop Black from being Kissed.

He had no idea how to get there though so the best solution was to go raring in through the front door.

Edward burst into the Great Hall, expecting the dementors who were normally on guard to attack him but they were not there.

He raced up the stairs, while the portraits on the wall glanced at him and whispered. Their eyes were wide. Edward knew he had to reach the old geezer fast before news of him in the castle spread.

"What amazes me most is the behavior of the dementors... you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

It was Fudge's voice. Edward skidded to a halt when he heard voices up ahead. He treaded carefully, aware of how his platform boots made several loud thuds even though he was walking on carpeted ground. Edward pressed himself against the wall, ignoring the frightened squeak from the portrait he was leaning against.

"No, Minister... by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances..."

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, and the girl-"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black and Elric, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle. Any news of them, Minister?"

"Black has been recaptured. The dementors found him near the Whomping Tree. Elric, however, is nowhere to be found. We did find one of the dementors pinned at the tree. Elric's doing, I suppose."

Edward dared to look around the wall to see Fudge and Snape talking in low voices. They were outside the infirmary.

"WHAT?"

Edward almost jumped when he heard Harry screaming from inside the infirmary. Fudge and Snape ran into the room and Edward took the chance to dash closer towards the infirmary.

"Minister, listen!" Harry said. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's-"

"Harry, Harry, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control..."

"YOU HAVEN'T!" Harry yelled. "YOUVE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

"And you're in the wrong place," said a voice behind Edward.

Edward reacted instantly, dropping to the ground and kicking viciously at the newcomer. But his leg did not connect. Instead, he was hung upside down by that leg by invisible ropes.

"Let go of me!" Edward hissed. The person did not reply. There was a soft whish of a stick and Edward was slowly turned around to face the very man he was looking for.


	37. Chapter 37

**Review pleaseeee! They keep me going! ^^**

The old geezer's eyes sparkled as Edward tried to let himself down by grabbing at where the invisible ropes were holding onto his ankle.

"You should not have come back, Edward. You know that the dementors and all the staff here are all looking for you."

"Black's innocent! You have to believe me, old man!" Edward gasped. "Peter Pettigrew's behind this He's alive! We saw him."

"That's enough, Edward," the principal said severely. He looked through his half moon spectacles at Edward, studying him.

"You have to believe me! The dementors are going-"

The old man let Edward down with a flick of his stick. He gave the latter a mysterious half smile. With another flick of his wand, a wing of fire engulfed Edward. Before Edward could clap and turn the moisture in the air to liquid to extinguish the fire, it died down and Edward was encased in darkness.

"You can let yourself out when you're ready," the old geezer said. His voice sounded odd from outside. Edward felt around his tomb of darkness and instantly felt claustrophobic when he realised there was hardly enough space for him to move. He concentrated on his breathing and forced his fleeting fear to die down.

"Now, Snape," Edward could hear Fudge's voice. It sounded weirdly distorted as well, "the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances-"

"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," said the old geezer. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy - please leave us."

There was a sound of protest and someone was shuffling around inside the infirmary.

"This cannot wait," said the geezer. "I must insist."

"That's fine. The dementors should have arrived by now," Fudge said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs."

Edward heard footsteps coming out of the room.

"Was this statue always there?" Fudge commented idly. Snape was muttering something in reply. His voice was disgruntled. Edward heard him mention Black and the dementors but his words were mostly lost.

The footsteps disappeared and Edward took off his glove and brushed his fingers against his concealment. The surface was cool and hard. Less malleable than metal, as rough as stone. Granite.

Edward pulled his glove back on and formed a circle in his head. He clapped and pressed his fingers against the stone. The walls around him crumbled and Edward blinked as he could see again. He breathed in a clean mouthful of air and moved towards the infirmary.

"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time," The old geezer was saying quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word- and the word of two thirteen-year-old wizards and a wanted criminal will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper."

"What we need is more time."

Granger made an excited sound. She clapped her hands over her mouth when she saw Edward and stared at him, eyes wide.

"Edward, would be joining you," the old geezer said knowingly in a tone that made Edward want to shout back in defiance.

"Edward isn't one of us," Granger said hoarsely. "He's not a wizard. He just claps his hands and-"

"Edward is right here," Edward interrupted testily, ignoring what the old geezer was about to say when the latter opened his mouth to speak.

The old geezer glanced sternly at Granger. "Edward is a friend. We have not got much time. Now, pay attention. Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, three of you: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law- you know what is at stake."

Edward started to protest but the old geezer silenced him with a look. The old geezer turned back towards Granger. He nodded towards the closet in the room.

"I am going to lock you in. It is-" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

Granger grabbed Edward and pulled him towards the closet and Harry stumbled behind her, clearly bemused. Granger was fumbling with the neck of her robes. She pulled out a very long gold chain. At the end of the chain, was a small hourglass.

Granger jerked Edward's arm so that he was uncomfortably close to her.

"Um…" Edward began but Granger did not let him finish.

"Harry, come here," she said urgently. "Quick!"

Granger threw the chain around Edward's neck, then Harry's.

"What are we doing?" Harry said, looking at Edward for askance. Edward raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

Granger flipped the hourglass over thrice, counting them under her breath.

The closet they were in disappeared into a deep darkness. There was an odd ringing sensation in Edward's ear- the kind you get when you dive too fast into the deep end of the pool.

His feet felt like they were dangling in the air even though Edward was aware of hard, solid ground under him. Edward felt a strange sense of déjà vu. He struggled to place it and realised that it was the same distinct feeling when he saw the Gate. The feeling that something unnatural had happened, that he was doing something forbidden.

The ringing stopped and Edward felt himself fall onto the ground but he was still standing in the exact same position. Harry looked a little ruffled. Granger was hurriedly removing the chain from Edward's and Harry's neck. They were in a different closet. It was much more spacious than the one in the infirmary but the air was incredibly stale.

"What- how- Hermione, what happened?" Harry gasped between breaths.

"We've gone back in time," Granger whispered. "Three hours back..."

"WHAT?" Edward hissed, suddenly dizzy. "What do you mean by going back in time? That's human transmutation! You just did human transmutation!"

Harry was still looking dazed and was pinching his leg. His face screwed up in pain. Granger swirled to glare at Edward. Her eyes were guarded.

"I have no idea what that means from whatever you came from. But Dumbledore trusts you. I'm not sure if I should but I have to trust you as well. I need you to do the same until we go back to our time."

"But-"

"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think- I think it might be us!" Granger pressed her ear to the door. "I think it's us going down to Hagrid's!"

"Are you telling me," Harry whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?"

"Yes," said Hermione, her ear still glued to the cupboard door. "I'm sure it's us. It doesn't sound like more than three people... and we're walking slowly because we're under the Cloak- "

"The what?" Edward asked but Granger shushed him again.

"We've gone down the front steps..." Granger sat down on an upturned bucket, looking desperately anxious.

"Where did you get that hourglass thing?" Harry asked, breaking the silence that followed.

"It's called a Time-Turner," Granger whispered, "and I got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day back. I've been using it all year to get to all my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic so I could have one. She had to tell them that I was a model student, and that I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies... I've been turning it back so I could do hours over again, that's how I've been doing several lessons at once, see? But Harry, I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"

"This is crazy!" Edward hissed but the Gryffindors ignored him.

"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," Harry said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago..."

"This is three hours ago, and we are walking down to Hagrid's," said Granger. "We just heard ourselves leaving."

Edward felt his anger rise. This, all this hocus pocus stuff. It was too weird. Too strange. Too stupid. He wanted to go back home where everything was normal. Where science was normal. Where broomsticks that do not fly, pictures that do not move were normal.

Granger and Harry were conversing in low voices but Edward did not join in. He was irritated at the whole thing. Why was he supposed to help them? It was not part of his job scope and he was already in a grave of his own. Why should he dig an even deeper grave for himself?

Edward found an old chair and sat in it, hoping he would not turn into liquid or get eaten by it. Who knows what chairs are capable of in this place?

"Hermione, we're going to save Buckbeak!" Harry exclaimed, animation dancing in his eyes. "Dumbledore said- he just told us where the window is- the window of Flitwick's office! Where they've got Sirius locked up! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak- they can escape together!"

Granger looked terrified. "If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!"

"Well, we've got to try, haven't we?" said Harry. He stood up and pressed his ear against the door. "Doesn't sound like anyone's there... Come on, let's go."

He turned to look at Edward who had planted himself into the chair with no sign of moving.

"Ed, come on! Aren't you coming?"

Edward frowned heavily. This did not feel right at all. His instincts were telling him to stay in the closet until everything blew over but since when did he ever listen to his instincts?

"Yeah, I'm coming."


	38. Chapter 38

**Review pretty pleaseeeeeeeeeee**

They ran down the stone steps. Edward let the Gryffindors lead the way since they seemed to know where they were going. They had made a little detour so that Edward could get his stick back from his room. He managed to sneak in and out without anyone seeing him.

Despite his misgivings about using magic, Edward felt safer with the stick in his pocket.

"If anyone's looking out of the window-" Granger squeaked, looking up at the castle behind them. Edward felt very naked.

"We'll run for it," said Harry determinedly. "Straight into the forest, all right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and keep a lookout-"

"Okay, but we'll go around by the greenhouses!" said Granger breathlessly. "We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or we'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!"

Harry set off at a sprint, Hermione behind him. Edward loped after them easily, forcing himself to slow down so that the Gryffindors did not lag too far behind. They tore across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses. They stayed there for a little while, keeping a cautious watch of everything around them. The Gryffindors were heaving from breaths. If they were in a real war, they would not have lasted a full minute. Once the Gryffindors had regained even breathing, Edward led the sprint into the Forest. He sprinted across the open space swiftly. Teacher was right about not slacking. After Al's visit, Edward felt the strong need to train. He had begun using longer routes to classes when he was not following Malfoy. He had to sprint quietly so that he would not be late or get caught for running in the hallways.

Edward turned around once he was in the safety of the trees and waited for the Gryffindors to reach. Edward worried the ground under his foot after almost a minute of waiting. The mud churned around his boot. Where were they? Did they get caught?

Harry burst into the trees just as Edward decided to go look for them. He was sweating heavily. Seconds later, Granger appeared behind him.

"How did you get here so fast?" Granger panted. "You have two metal limbs!"

"Right," Edward ignored her. It was a petty thing- a form of revenge when Granger ignored him back in the closet "We need to sneak over to the big guy's place. Go quietly."

They made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the forest. Then, as they glimpsed the front of Hagrid's house, Edward heard a knock upon his door. He moved quickly behind a wide trunk, gesturing the others to do the same.

They peered out from either side of the trunk. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked. And Edward heard Harry's voice.

"It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

Edward had to make sure Harry was squatting down beside him to believe it.

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered. He stood back, then shut the door quickly.

"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry said fervently.

"Tell me about it," Edward muttered, glancing from Harry to the cottage.

"Let's move along a bit," Granger whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"

They crept through the trees until they saw the chimera tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Edward felt a pang in his chest. It was hard looking at it and not think of Nina. This was the result of the mistakes Alchemists made because of their own selfish goals.

"Now?" Harry whispered.

"No!" said Granger. "If we steal him now, those Committee people will think Hagrid set him free! We've got to wait until they've seen he's tied outside!"

"That's going to give us about sixty seconds," said Harry.

"Then we'll be done in fify," Edward growled, narrowing his eyes at the challenge. Mistakes were made. But that was in the past. He had two legs. To get up and move on.

At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.

"That's Hagrid breaking the milk jug," Granger whispered. "I'm going to find Scabbers in a moment."

Sure enough, a few minutes later, they heard Granger's shriek of surprise.

"Hey," said Harry suddenly, "what if we- we just run in there and grab Pettigrew-"

"No!" said Granger in a terrified whisper. "Don't you understand? We're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody's supposed to change time, nobody! Harry, what do you think you'd do if you saw yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?"

"I'd think I'd gone mad," said Harry, "or I'd think there was some Dark Magic going on."

Granger did not say anything, letting the weight of the consequences sink into Harry. Harry's eyes widened and he nodded somberly.

Edward nudged the Gryffindors and pointed toward the castle. The old geezer was there. So was Fudge and a man garbed in black robes holding a mean looking ax.

"We're about to come out!" Granger breathed.

Hagrid's back door opened, as if on cue and Harry, Granger and Weasley emerged. Edward had to once again check that Granger and Harry were beside him. Harry was gazing at himself in surprise and fascination.

"We'll tell them what really happened"

"They can't kill him-"

"Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

From his vantage point, with Granger and Harry beside him, Edward felt like he was watching a play unfold. The whole thing felt so surreal.

The Granger in the pumpkin patch beckoned Harry and Weasley towards her and threw a piece of fabric over themselves. They vanished.

"What just happened?" Edward demanded.

"It's nothing," Harry said hurriedly. He shot Granger a cryptic look and Edward frowned.

"But you guys just-"

"Shh!" Granger hissed and pointed at the door.

"Where is the beast?" the man in black said. He was shifting his ax from one arm to the other to relieve the strain of the weight. Edward could not help noticing how easily he handled the ax. He was obviously skilled with his weapon.

"Out- outside," Hagrid croaked.

"We- er- have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it. Macnair, you're supposed to listen too, that's procedure-" Fudge was rolling out a parchment and entered the house. The group of hocus pocus people disappeared from sight.

"Wait here," Harry whispered. "I'll do it."

Edward nodded, hoping that relief was not too evident on his face. He did not want to get close to the chimera.

As Fudge's voice started again, Harry darted out from behind his tree, vaulted the fence into the pumpkin patch, and approached the chimera.

It happened so quickly and so slow. Harry stared at the chimera's eyes and bowed. Fudge's voice was droning on about some rights but it sounded like he was concluding.

They had to hurry.

The chimera did a graceful squat and rose again, acknowledging Harry who instantly reached for the rope around the chimera and untied it from the fence.

Harry grabbed the rope with both hands and pulled the chimera in the direction of the forest but the chimera had decided that it liked its spot. It sank its claws into the ground and resisted.

Edward could hear the voices in the cabin growing louder. They were coming. Harry looked frantically at the cabin then at the chimera and pulled even harder.

Granger exchanged a panicked look with Edward before pulling out her stick and whispering under her breath. The ground around the chimera's feet loosened and it stumbled. The beast shook its head irritably and moved in the direction Harry was pulling it.

"Quick! Quick!" Granger moaned, darting out from behind the tree and seized the rope too. The added weight made the chimera move faster. Edward waited until they were in the forest before he helped pull the chimera away from the cabin.

"Stop!" Harry whispered. "They might hear us."

Edward glanced over his shoulder and realised that he could no longer see the cabin.

"Where is it?" roared a voice Edward did not recognise. "Where is the beast?"

"Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's gone! Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!"

"Someone untied him!" the voice was snarling. "We should search the grounds, the forest."

Harry and Granger winced. There was a little muted conversation before speech died down completely.

"Now what?" whispered Harry, looking around.

"They could be searching the forest or they could have assumed the chimera had flown away. Either way, we should keep going until its safe," Edward said.

"The what?" Harry asked.

"Chimeras!" Granger said with understanding. "Aren't they what alchemists call-"

Edward yanked at the rope, causing the chimera to stumble before moving again. He looked over and gave Harry and Granger both a cryptic smile. They frowned.


	39. Chapter 39

They moved like shadows and night blanketed them.

"There's Ron!" said Harry suddenly. Edward looked up and saw the Willow. A dark figure with bright hair was sprinting, shouting unintelligibly.

Two more figures appeared and Edward recognised Harry's and Granger's silhouettes. They were followed and overtaken easily by an enormous dog.

"There's Sirius!" said Harry. The dog seized Weasley and pulled him into the roots.

Edward gasped. There was a stranger among them. A boy shorter than the rest of the group. It was dark so it was hard to tell what the boy's colouring was. Maybe blonde, or brown? He was wearing the same filthy robes Edward was wearing and cussing with the same filthy language Edward preferred to use.

The tree flung the boy around like a ragdoll and one of the branches scored across his face, leaving a thin trickle of blood which Edward had not noticed before. Edward winced in sympathy for him.

"Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" said Harry. "Ouch- look, I just got walloped by the tree- and so did you- this is weird-"

"So did I?" Edward hissed incredulously. "I'm right here!"

"And you're there too," Granger said.

"I'm right here!" Edward snarled, standing up abruptly and clenching his fist. The Gryffindors' eyes widened simultaneously and Edward turned furiously away from them. There was a roaring noise in his ears. Loud and harsh and he could not hear what his companions were saying.

His sanity told him he was angry although it was not their fault. His sanity told him not to worry; it was all a bad dream and he would wake up soon. His insanity told him that amidst the roaring, came a clear distinct clap of metal against flash. His insanity also told him that through his blood red vision, he saw the boy press his palms against the tree trunk and blue alchemic light emitted from them. His insanity told him that that was clearly an alchemic reaction, that the boy was most definitely him.

His sanity told his insanity to shut up.

The Whomping Willow lashed out some more before the branches crumbled and the three figures collapsed onto the ground.

"And there we go..." Harry muttered. "We're in."

The figures disappeared and Edward let out a low breath of relief. Seconds later, they heard footsteps quite close by. The geezer, Fudge, and two other men were making their way up to the castle.

Harry and Granger were whispering about the geezer but Edward ignored them. He sat down on the ground bitterly and the chimera made a soft crooning sound behind him.

Once the geezer and his party had left, the entire forest was eerily quiet for minutes.

"Here comes Lupin!" said Harry and Edward looked up. Lupin had the parchment in his hand and he looked around quickly before grabbing one of the branches Edward had severed from the tree and prodded a huge knot on the tree. The branches stopped whipping around. Lupin slid into the hole.

"Wish we knew about that earlier," Granger muttered.

"If he'd only grabbed the-," Harry gave Edward a sidelong look which the latter did not miss and made a vague gesture with his hand. "It's just lying there..."

"If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and-"

"Harry, we mustn't be seen!"

"How can you stand this?" he asked Granger fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen?" He hesitated. "I'm going to grab it!"

"Harry, no!"

Edward did not bother asking what they were talking about and looked pointedly away as Harry gave Edward yet another very significant look.

Before Harry could dash out of the shelter of the forest, Hagrid's throaty voice broke into song and he appeared, staggering up to the castle and singing horribly.

"See?" Granger whispered. "See what would have happened? We've got to keep out of sight! No, Buckbeak!"

The chimera was making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid again. Harry and Granger seized the rope until Hagrid disappeared and the chimera calmed down.

"Look," Edward whispered, catching their attention. The Gryffindors sat down on the ground beside him.

Snape was charging across the lawn towards the Willow. He stopped when he was in front of the thrashing tree and grabbed the thin piece of fabric Edward had seen on him when he first appeared on the Shack, out of thin air. And the same fabric that the Gryffindors had used which had let them disappear, into thin air.

"That thing makes you invisible!" Edward said, with dawning realisation and was confirmed when Snape prodded the knot, wrapped the cloth around his body and disappeared.

"Edward, look…" Granger paused and looked helplessly at Harry. She took a deep breath. "Yes, its called an Invisibility Cloak. It's Harry's. We didn't want to tell you about it because-"

"You didn't trust me, I know," Edward interrupted nonchalantly. He would not blame them. If he were in their shoes, he would not be trusting himself either.

"I'm sorry, even though Dumbledore says you're with us, there's too much we don't know about you. And because I also…" Granger took a deep breath and her eyes clouded. She shook her head frantically but her eyes still carried the troubled look.

Edward gave her a steady look and waited for her to continue. But she remained silent and stared into the distance pensively.

Sighing, Edward picked up a twig from the ground and drew a perfect circle. As he began to fill in the lines and shapes inside the array, he started talking.

"You're right about one thing," Edward said, joining the lines together inside the circle. He put his hands over the array and soft blue light began to glow. "I'm not one of you."

The ground around the array sank a little. When the light died away, a little metal replica of the chimera sat on it. Harry and Granger shared similar stunned expressions on their faces. The chimera was making weird chuffing noises from the sudden flare of blue light.

"I'm not into any of your hocus pocus stuff. I have never seen any of it until very recently. I come from a place called Amestris. Its where the rules of alchemy govern us."

"You're an alchemist?" Granger almost shouted. Her eyes darted around before she lowered her voice. "I've suspected as much from what I've seen but I can't believe you would admit to being one of You-know-who's supporters!"

"He's a Voldemort supporter?" It was Harry's turn to almost shout.

"No," Edward snapped irritably. "I'm not anyone's supporter. You people have a very skewed sense of alchemy. First of all, alchemists aren't gold makers. It's really harmful to the economy if there is an everlasting supply of gold to the world. Second of all…"

Edward crossed his hands over the circle again and the chimera replica dissolved back into the ground.

"Unlike magic, alchemy needs to come from something. It's called the Principle of Equivalent Exchange. You can't get something out of nothing. Which is why even though I've been here for almost a year, I still can't understand how magic works- how this works." Edward waved his hand at the Whomping Willow where everyone had disappeared moments ago.

"Then if you don't belong here, or even want to, why are you here?" Harry asked.

The entire protecting Malfoy thing still puzzled Edward. Black had already explained his role in the case. So what was Malfoy's part in everything?

"I can't tell you much but I can only say it's because my commanding officer said so," Edward replied.

Granger let out a half squeal of excitement. The chimera perked its head and looked wildly around before sitting back down in the ground again. Harry was tying the rope attached to the chimera around a tree trunk.

"You're commanding officer? That means you are a Special Alchemist! And you guys are military. But how can you be in the military? You're so young!"

"State alchemists," Edward said abruptly. Before he could explain any more, Granger's eyes widened.

"At the library the last time, you said your younger brother wears armour all the time. Could he be the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Edward was mildly impressed by how fast Granger could put two and two together. It was not surprising though considering that Granger was known to be a hocus pocus prodigy.

"Actually, I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"You? You mean you're the one they call Viagra on legs?" Granger paused when she realised what she had just said and blushed deeply. Edward reddened considerably as well.

Harry stroked the chimera's wings and glanced at Granger curiously. "Hermoine, what kind of books have you been reading?"

"I… I mean, it's not that you're not good looking. I mean, you are but I don't… I mean I could have…"

Edward grinned as Granger babbled away. He shot Harry a smirk. "Apparently, you people wrote a book about us. They made me sexy."

Harry gave him a grunt, in the universal man language which meant _I acknowledge what you have said but I do not necessarily agree with you._

Edward returned a grunt of his own which translated to _You just wish you were me_.

Harry grunt-moaned and rolled his eyes.


End file.
